Kanabo aims to accelerate medical cannabis access through GP prescribing

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Medical cannabis company, Kanabo, has bought one of the UK’s leading private primary healthcare providers, in a bid to improve access to prescriptions.

In its latest move, European medical cannabis company, Kanabo, has purchased The GP Service (GPS), one of the leading private telemedicine primary healthcare providers in the UK.

The deal, announced on Monday 21 February is said to be worth £14m.

Following regulatory approval, patients will be able to access Kanabo’s medical cannabis and CBD products through the telehealth service.

For a set price of £39.99, patients will be able to get an appointment with a UK registered GP within half an hour and a prescription sent to one of 4,200 pharmacies within an hour for £7.49.

GPS is an approved provider on the NHS digital framework for video and online consultations and is able to able to electronically deliver prescriptions to a network of pharmacies including major high street chains and independent pharmacies

All GPs are based in the UK and registered with the General Medical Council (GMC).

In the UK GPs are currently only permitted to prescribe medical cannabis under the direction of a specialist consultant or as part of a shared care agreement.

However, in most other countries, where cannabis has been made legal for medical purposes, GPs make up the majority of prescribers. 

With over 35,000 registered GPs, caring for over 60 million patients in the UK, campaigners say that allowing them to prescribe, would vastly improve patient access to medical cannabis.

In a survey of over 1,000 practicing GPs, carried out by the Primary Care Cannabis Network last year, 39 per cent supported the idea of allowing specialist GPs to prescribe and 24 per cent would be willing to prescribe now if they were given the right support.

Kanabo, the first medicinal cannabis company to IPO on the LSE, intends to develop The GP Service platform to become one of Europe’s first digitally-led and legally compliant providers for Kanabo’s products and wellness CBD services.

Last year it launched its VapePod device, the first medical-grade, metered dosing vaporiser which is now being prescribed to medical cannabis patients in the UK. If you have no experience with this type of vaping devices, take a look at this pod vape kits buying guide to get a better understanding of what to expect.

Through improved access to these products, Kanabo says it hopes to make a substantial contribution to improving outcomes for thousands of patients in the UK and Europe.

Atul Devani, CEO of the GP Service, commented: “The GP Service was incorporated with the aim of offering patients an innovative and cost-effective solution to access primary healthcare services conveniently and efficiently.

“We have invested heavily in our core systems and technologies to provide patients with treatment or advice following a remote video or with a GMC Registered Doctor and have successfully built one of the leading primary care telemedicine companies in the UK. With further support and investment from Kanabo we look forward to expanding our core service to cover a range of other medical conditions and further enhance our electronic prescription offerings in the coming months across a number of territories.”

For more industry news visit www.cannabiswealth.co.uk

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