2025 was a year of many regulatory bodies holding a magnifying glass over the cannabis sector.
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) investigated over a hundred prescribers in a major ethics crackdown. Following a spray of advertising fines, our national Health Regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) opened up an industry consultation with the goal to improve compliance and transparency across the medicinal cannabis sector.
Why? To protect patients in a fast-growing industry, where some businesses across the supply chain, from suppliers and wholesalers to clinics, prescribers and dispensaries, may be motivated by profit at the expense of ethical patient care.
What behaviours can suggest a clinic may be prioritising profit over patient care?
While many clinics operate responsibly, patients should be aware of potential red flags in any fast-growing healthcare sector.
- Should patients receive 7 minute initial appointments with a faceless prescriber? How can consults for a Schedule 8 drug appropriately review holistic medical history and health needs in this short time?
- Should patients be aware if clinics have under-the-table arrangements to prescribe products that provide commercial benefit to everyone but the patient?
- Should patients face hidden fees or hurdles when accessing their scripts at any pharmacy of their choice?
These practices are occurring today, and patients are not always given the level of transparency they deserve. Healthcare decisions should be grounded in clinical need rather than commercial arrangements, and patients deserve to have clear visibility over how their prescriptions are issued, accessed, and dispensed.
1. Why prescription transparency matters
Your prescription is part of your healthcare. It should support your treatment, not restrict it.
Australia’s national prescribing systems are designed to ensure patients can receive prescriptions directly and choose where they are dispensed. Electronic prescriptions can be issued to patients via SMS, email, or through an Active Script List that can be accessed by pharmacies with patient consent.
This means prescription systems are built around patient access and portability, not provider control.
| Red Flag If you are unable to access a script at a pharmacy of your choosing, the clinic has likely ‘locked’ your script to a pharmacy of their choosing. |
| Hot Tip Ask before you choose your clinic if you can have your script (and any other required documentation) sent to a pharmacy of your choosing. The answer should be “yes”, without any unreasonable fees (more on that below). |
| At Astrid Astrid Clinic will always issue eScripts and supporting prescription documents to patients at their request, at no cost, in a timely manner. |
2. Clinical decisions must be independent
Prescribing decisions are intended to be based on clinical judgement and patient need.
Guidance from NSW Health states that prescribing decisions must not be governed by third parties receiving financial benefit from the supply of medicines. In other words, treatment decisions should be made for clinical reasons, not commercial ones.
| Red Flag Medicinal Cannabis exists in the private sector, and clinicians are not subsidised by the government in the same way many GPs are. If a consultation is advertised as $0 or very low cost (such as $29), it should raise questions about how the clinician is being paid. That revenue would need to be generated elsewhere in the supply chain, potentially through affiliated products the clinics are financially incentivised to prescribe. |
| Hot Tip If you value prescriptions based on clinical judgement and patient need above all else, be aware that some low cost clinics may not hold the same values. Be empowered to ask them questions they should be able to transparently answer – we’ve created a checklist for you below. |
| At Astrid Astrid clinicians are paid from consultation fees, and scripts are written based on clinical judgement and patient need. Astrid Clinic refuses to accept any supplier or distributor commercial incentives to prescribe certain brands. |
3. Prescriptions are designed to move with the patient
Australia’s digital prescribing infrastructure, coordinated nationally by the Australian Digital Health Agency, enables prescriptions to be issued directly to patients and dispensed at participating pharmacies they choose.
Clinics may recommend or partner with certain pharmacies. This is common and not inherently problematic, provided patients are informed and retain genuine choice.
This system exists to support continuity of care, convenience, and patient control over access to medicines.
It’s important to understand there is no law mandating fees for the movement of scripts or supporting documentation such as TGA approvals. If a clinic or dispensary charges a release fee, patients should ask why, because it is not required by the prescribing system.
| Red Flag If fees are applied by a clinic or dispensary to “release”, “transfer”, or “discharge” a prescription and supporting documents, understand that this is a business decision. Furthermore, high fees may be designed to act as a deterrent for you taking your script elsewhere. |
| Hot Tip Before you choose your clinic, ask about fees to take your script/records to dispensaries of your choice. Some clinics may charge a small admin fee, but if the fees feel exorbitant, you are entitled to understand what they are for; and whether they are intending to ‘lock’ you into the clinic’s chosen pharmacy. |
| At Astrid Patients are always free to choose where they receive care and where their prescriptions are dispensed. If you decide to use another clinic or pharmacy, Astrid will promptly release your scripts and supporting prescription documents (such as TGA approvals) at no cost. |
Astrid Clinic’s preferred dispensing partner is Astrid Dispensary, and we are open about this relationship. We’re proud of the partnership and believe both teams are aligned in delivering an informed, specialised, and patient-first experience.
The questions every patient should ask their clinic
Here are a list of questions every clinic should be able to answer openly and transparently.
Access
☐ Will I receive my prescription (eScript token or Active Script List access) after my consultation?
Choice
☐ Am I free to choose which pharmacy dispenses my medication?
☐ Can I change pharmacies if my circumstances change?
Fees
☐ Are there any administrative, transfer, or discharge fees to access my prescription?
☐ What exactly do those fees cover?
Independence
☐ Are prescribing decisions made independently of pharmacy or supplier arrangements?
Healthcare works best when patients have clarity, choice, and control. Remember that you have the right to ask for more detail to ensure you’re able to make the right decisions for your care.
Astrid’s position on patient care
We believe that patients should always know how their prescriptions are issued, where they can be dispensed, what fees may apply, and that they are free to choose their clinic and pharmacy.
Transparency isn’t a privilege, it’s part of good healthcare. When patients have clear information, they can make confident decisions about their care.
Your prescription should work for you, not the other way around
If you value transparency, quality of care, and empowerment in your healthcare, choose Astrid.
