Increasing access to medical cannabis on the NHS for chronic pain could save the state healthcare provider almost £4 billion annually, according to a new research study published by the Cannabis Industry Council (CIC).
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, found that when a patient was prescribed medical cannabis for chronic pain, instead of alternative treatments, this saved the NHS £729 each year.
The study found that if cannabis-based medicines 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, as well as improving health outcomes. 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.
“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,” said Prof. Mike Barnes, from the Cannabis Industry Council and drugs advisory charity Drug Science.
“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.”
The Cannabis Industry Council and Drug Science commissioned the independent analysis of the economic case for prescribing medical cannabis on the NHS for chronic pain. The research was supported by industry partners Ethypharm, Glass Pharms, and Rua Bioscience, while the economic modelling was undertaken by the York Health-Economics Consortium. The report used data from Drug Science’s Project Twenty21, a real-world evidence study constituting the UK’s largest medical registry on cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans.
The study also found that prescribing medical cannabis on the NHS for chronic pain would reduce time taken off work by 27 hours per patient, as well as increasing their 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.
“Despite medical cannabis being legalised in 2018, there are just a handful of NHS patients being prescribed unlicensed cannabis medicines,” said James Duckenfield, CEO of Glass Pharms.
“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.”
Read the full report, The economics of prescribing cannabis for chronic pain, here.
