La Jolla, CA: Most primary care physicians are unwilling to answer their patients’ questions about medical cannabis, according to survey data published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Investigators affiliated with the University of California at San Diego surveyed a cohort of internal medicine and family medicine physicians from San Diego, California.
Respondents said that their patients frequently inquire about medical cannabis use, but most acknowledged “not feeling competent” discussing the issue – a finding that is consistent with other studies.
Researchers reported: “Primary care physicians are asked about cannabis for therapeutic purposes by patients of all ages, but few are prepared to provide advice. … Physicians were generally not comfortable counseling patients of any age about cannabis use due to limited training and an incomplete evidence base. Some shifted responsibility to the patient, urging them to use cannabis ‘at their own risk,’ or referring to experts in specialty clinics or cannabis dispensary workers.”
While over two-thirds of health care practitioners nationwide acknowledge that cannabis possesses medical utility, most refuse to speak to their patients about it, and many say that they do not receive adequate medical training on cannabis-related issues.
Full text of the study, “Exploring physicians’ perspectives on cannabis use for therapeutic purposes with a focus on older versus younger adults,” appears in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.