Patients in Saskatoon are being cut off from a marijuana-prescribing doctor from Alberta after it was discovered the physician was not licensed to practice in Saskatchewan.
The doctor provided telemedicine — speaking to patients via teleconference — for National Access Cannabis (NAC), a company that has nine clinics across the country that help link patients with doctors who prescribe medical marijuana.
CBC News was tipped off about the situation by one of the doctor’s Saskatoon-based patients.
Number of patients affected unclear
NAC said it first focused on the doctor during a recent internal audit.
“All physicians we work with are licensed medical doctors who are experts in the cannabis field,” the company said via an emailed statement issued by its public relations firm, Maverick.
“It was NAC’s understanding that this physician in question from Alberta was also licensed to prescribe via telemedicine in Saskatoon. We obtained clarification from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan [indicating otherwise].”
NAC is currently notifying patients that the doctor can no longer take appointments.
“NAC doesn’t comment on patient numbers,” said a spokesperson.
‘It is not a frequent occurrence’
The college requires doctors prescribing marijuana to Saskatchewan patients to, among other things, “conduct an appropriate physical examination.”
“That is consistent with the telemedicine policy available on our website, which also addresses the requirement that a physician must be licensed in Saskatchewan in order to practice medicine in Saskatchewan, including by telemedicine,” said Bryan Salte, the college’s associate registrar, via email.
The policy also states that “the college expects that physicians who provide telemedicine services should, wherever possible, ensure that the care provided to the patient through telemedicine will provide the same level of care to the patient as would be provided if the physician was physically present.”
“These requirements have been in place for a significant period of time,” Salte added. “The college would have similar concerns about a physician located in another province who prescribed other drugs such as opioids without seeing a patient, obtaining appropriate patient records, etc.”
Salte said that after the college was told that two professionals licensed in other provinces — one doctor and one nurse — had provided prescriptions to Saskatchewan patients, Salte advised the regulatory body for those two people.
“There is no crackdown now,” said Salte. “If we become aware that a professional licensed by another regulatory body is acting in a way that we think is inappropriate, we will advise that person’s regulatory body.”
“It is not a frequent occurrence,” he said.
More ‘stringent audits’ to follow
CBC News has reached out to the College Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, which regulates doctors from that province, to find out if any disciplinary action has been taken against the Alberta doctor sidelined by NAC.
NAC for its part says it will continue to make sure its doctors have all the requisite certifications.
“As the medical cannabis space evolves to a more mature industry, NAC has been implementing changes in its processes to ensure that our physicians are licensed in the provinces that they practise and prescribe,” the company said in its statement.
“NAC has and will continue to regularly conduct stringent audits of its physicians.”