Medical cannabis could save NHS £4 billion each year
Allowing medical cannabis to be prescribed on the NHS for chronic pain could save the state healthcare provider almost £4 billion annually, according to a new research study.
The research found that when a patient was prescribed medical cannabis for chronic pain, instead of alternative treatments, this saved the NHS £729 each year, as well as improving health outcomes.
If this were available as a treatment to the 5.45 million people with moderately or severely disabling chronic pain, it would equate to a £3.97 billion annual saving to the NHS.
The savings came from reductions in the usage of other prescription drugs (such as opioids), fewer GP and hospital appointments, and reduced spending on alternative therapies and treatments.
Prof. Mike Barnes, of Cannabis Industry Council and Drug Science, said:
“Our research shows the NHS could save £4 billion every year, simply by facilitating prescription of medical cannabis for chronic pain – which is already legal to prescribe.
“This seems an obvious win-win for the Government, particularly given high NHS waiting lists, Government funding challenges, and the number of long-term unemployed people.
“Given the Government is advocating prescribing weight loss drugs on the NHS to improve health and boost the economy, our research shows it would be entirely logical to do the same with medical cannabis.”
Additionally, the report also found prescribing medical cannabis on the NHS for chronic pain would reduce the amount of time taken off work by 27 hours per patient, as well as increasing their individual earnings by hundreds of pounds.
Overall, prescribing cannabis for chronic pain could improve the UK economy by £5.45 billion annually (£1,037 per patient).
Significantly, the report found that medical cannabis would meet the NICE test for whether it is a cost effective intervention.
James Duckenfield, CEO of Glass Pharms, commented:
“Despite medical cannabis being legalised in 2018, there are just a handful of NHS patients being prescribed unlicensed cannabis medicines.
“We hope that NICE will review the evidence in this Health Economic Analysis and adapt their guidelines accordingly.
“Now is the time to expand NHS provision to allow unlicensed cannabis medicines to be prescribed for chronic pain.”
The independent analysis of the economic case for prescribing medical cannabis on the NHS for chronic pain was commissioned by the Cannabis Industry Council and Drug Science. The research was supported by Ethypharm, Glass Pharms, and Rua Bioscience. The modelling was undertaken by York Health-Economics Consortium.
The study, developed by lead author Dr Shanna Marrinan, has been published in the Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research.
The findings come ahead of Medical Cannabis Awareness Week, which is being held on 1-7 November.
The read the summary report, please click here.
