More Than Just a Private Prescription: NHS Spine Integration Brings Medical Cannabis into the System

Releaf is one of the first medical cannabis clinics to integrate with the NHS’ Spine service, the digital backbone of healthcare across the UK. Could this be a turning point in how clinicians view and engage with cannabis-based medicines?

While the number of prescriptions for CBMPs is growing significantly year-on-year, until now the private clinics providing this service have largely existed outside of the NHS infrastructure, with only a handful of patients successfully obtaining NHS prescriptions.

This system has also limited the ability for open communication and joined-up care between patients’ NHS medical teams and their specialist cannabis prescribers. 

In a potential turning point for the sector, Releaf recently became the second cannabis clinic to join NHS Spine (alongside Curaleaf), the system serving as the backbone of digital health records in the UK, connecting 44,000 healthcare IT systems and 26,000 organisations in frontline healthcare. 

Spine allows information to be shared securely through services such as the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), Personal Demographics Service (PDS) and National Care Records Service (NCRS), with up to 500,000 health professionals using it every day. 

Bringing CBMPs into the mainstream

While this won’t change anything in terms of how CBMPs are funded under the NHS, it will mean Releaf prescriptions can be managed with the same security, efficiency, and transparency as any other NHS prescription.

Patients will benefit from more streamlined services, including reduced admin, quicker eligibility assessments, faster prescription processing and better record-keeping. 

“Our integration with NHS Spine marks a major milestone for Releaf and the UK medical cannabis sector,” says a spokesperson for Releaf.

“Not only does it demonstrate Releaf’s commitment to best practice, safety, and transparency, but it will also bring CBPMs into the mainstream, aligning them with standard healthcare systems.”

The current disconnect between the NHS and private clinics makes communication between medical professionals difficult, potentially placing patients at greater risk of things like contraindications and side-effects. 

NHS Spine integration will encourage collaboration between NHS and Releaf clinicians, enabling them to communicate more effectively, while GPs and other healthcare professionals are more easily able to access and understand patients’ medical cannabis treatment plans.

“It will help to normalise CBPMs as part of routine patient care, rather than an alternative treatment,” they continue.

“By aligning Releaf with NHS governance and data standards, we are increasing public trust and demonstrating responsible prescribing, reassuring both patients and healthcare professionals.”

Opening the door to clinician engagement?

Out of over 40,000 specialist consultants who are eligible to prescribe cannabis in the UK, less than 1% are currently doing so. This is largely due to the lack of a clear funding pathway and NICE recommendations for prescribing unlicensed CBMPs through the NHS. 

However the lack of support from colleagues and the fact that many doctors are unfamiliar with these medications and still associate cannabis with recreational drug use, prevents many from putting their heads above the parapet to explore prescribing. 

The introduction of CBMP prescriptions to NHS Spine will help to demystify these medicines and legitimise them as valid treatment options among doctors who have previously avoided or dismissed them.

This has been the case in countries where medical cannabis prescribing has been more effectively integrated into existing healthcare systems, resulting in increased prescriber education and confidence.

In Australia, for example, the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) collects data on cannabis prescriptions through both prescribers and producers via the authorisation process and now makes this information publicly available. GPs are also now able to prescribe without the support of a specialist consultant, leading to a dramatic increase in patient access. 

Releaf says its NHS Spine integration is a “foundational step” in paving the way for wider CBPM acceptance in the UK.

The connectivity of NHS Spine offers reassurance around safety, governance, and regulation by providing visibility into prescribing practices and easing concerns about oversight and accountability.

“We know that greater visibility leads to increased interest in learning how CBPMs can support patients and encourages open dialogue, reducing barriers to clinician involvement.”

A first step to NHS partnerships and training pathways

Widespread prescribing of CBMPs through the NHS is unlikely to happen without the support of healthcare regulators and medical bodies such as the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Pain Society. 

While the lack of clinical trials remains a major barrier to this, the data collected through NHS Spine could play a critical role in influencing healthcare policy and developing clear clinical guidelines for CBPM prescribing.

Releaf is also collecting its own patient-reported outcomes on the safety and efficacy of CBMPs in a wide range of conditions, signalling to regulators and medical bodies a desire to contribute seriously to the growing evidence base for these treatments. 

Above all, clinician education is crucial and Releaf is confident that this could be an important step towards establishing formalised training pathways and partnerships between clinics, the NHS and educators, to support professional development in doctors.

“Releaf is leading by example, committed to collaboration, education, and responsible prescribing,” says the spokesperson. 

“NHS Spine integration signals an era, where CBPMs should be taken seriously as part of patient treatment options. Medical cannabis is now part of mainstream medicine in the UK.

“Now is the time for medical institutions to act, integrating CBPM education and guidance into professional standards. It’s time for healthcare professionals to engage, explore CBPM treatments, and understand their role in patient care.”

It won’t happen overnight, but it is a promising step forward in slowly shifting longstanding attitudes towards CBMPs and making real change that benefits patients.