Prescribing medical cannabis for chronic pain could save the NHS almost £4 billion annually, according to new research.
The findings come from an independent economic analysis of medical cannabis for the treatment of chronic pain, undertaken by York Health-Economics Consortium at the University of York.
Researchers found that when a patient was prescribed medical cannabis for chronic pain, instead of alternative treatments, this saved the NHS £729 each year, as well as improving health outcomes.
It is estimated that if this were available as a treatment to the 5.45 million people with moderately or severely disabling chronic pain, it would equate to a £3.97 billion annual saving to the NHS.
The savings came from reductions in the use of other prescription drugs (such as opioids), fewer GP and hospital appointments, and reduced spending on alternative therapies and treatments.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently reported a 118% increase in private prescriptions of unlicensed cannabis-based medicines between 2021-23, with 300,000 items prescribed during this time period.
In the last six years since medical cannabis was legalised in the UK, fewer than five prescriptions have been obtained through the NHS.
A closer look at the study
Chronic pain is the most common indication for which medical cannabis is prescribed in the UK, with just over half of those accessing the treatment privately doing so for pain-related conditions.
The research team used data from Drug Science’s T21 programme to inform the model, assuming a 5% increased efficacy from using cannabis medicines based on current real-world evidence.
The prevalence of moderately or severely disabling chronic pain among the UK population is said to be between 10.4% – 14.3%, equating to 5,447,932 people at the lower level.
The findings come as this week the Health Foundation think tank predicted that the number of people with chronic pain could increase by two million by 2040 (these additional figures are not factored into the study).
NICE guidelines
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines make recommendations around which medicines should be prescribed on the NHS based on cost, and the available evidence for safety and efficacy.
According to those behind the research, based on these findings, medical cannabis would meet the NICE requirements to determine whether it is a cost-effective intervention.
£5 million boost to UK economy
The report also found that prescribing medical cannabis on the NHS for chronic pain would reduce the amount of time taken off work by 27 hours per patient, as well as increasing their individual earnings by hundreds of pounds.
Overall, it estimates that prescribing cannabis for chronic pain could improve the UK economy by £5.45 billion annually (£1,037 per patient).
Professor Mike Barnes, founder of the Cannabis Industry Council and clinical director at Drug Science, which commissioned the research, said: “Our research shows the NHS could save £4 billion every year, simply by facilitating prescription of medical cannabis for chronic pain – which is already legal to prescribe.
“This seems an obvious win-win for the Government, particularly given high NHS waiting lists, Government funding challenges, and the number of long-term unemployed people.
“Given the Government is advocating prescribing weight loss drugs on the NHS to improve health and boost the economy, our research shows it would be entirely logical to do the same with medical cannabis.”
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