Tomás Cobo (Cgcom) and Jesús Aguilar (Cgcof).
The approval of the Health Commission in the Congress of Deputies to the medical cannabis use for therapeutic purposes has put on the table the need to train the professionals of the National Health System (SNS) who will be in charge of prescribing and dispensing the new drugs. A scenario that doctors as pharmacists They already contemplate in the medium term if finally the Ministry of Health takes the definitive step.
The General Council of Official Colleges of Physicians (Cgcof) has explained that it does plan to strengthen the knowledge of doctors in this field, although not specifically, but as part of the plans they maintain for the incorporation of any new medication. “The training can be pharmacological or technical, which It is essential is this process of continuous training of the doctor”explained to Medical Writing on president, Thomas Cob.
The opinion agreed by majority by the parliamentary groups determined that they would be fundamentally the specialist doctors those who would be in charge in each case of prescribing medicinal cannabis and finally ruled out the request for formations such as PNV or ERC to facilitate dispensing also through the Primary Care area.
Despite this new responsibility, the collegiate body differs from the approach of Congress since they only endorse the use of these drugs for child patients with continuous status epilepticus that do not respond to any other type of medication. While the parliamentary agreement put up to five different assumptions on the table.
Pharmaceutical training for medical cannabis
Another of the professional sectors that is already analyzing training is that of the pharmacists who will be in charge of dispensing the medicines. The General Council of Official Colleges of Pharmacy (Cfcof) has acknowledged that it is working on “some training action” for office professionals, but it still does not have a date to make it effective.
Sources from the collegiate body have explained to this newspaper that the formula for training professionals will be marked by the “dispensing conditions specified by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps)”.
The Congress groups granted a period of six months to the institution that directs Maria Jesus Lamas so that it facilitates that the recommendations have a “fit into the regulations and are viable”. While he was commissioned to validate the “availability” of extracts and standardized preparations of cannabis in the national market.
In the opinion of parliamentarians, Aemps plays a “crucial role” for the development of the project and coordination with the autonomous communities “It should define mechanisms consistent with current regulations through which prescription and dispensing is possible.” Until this phase is completed, pharmacists will not refine their training plan.
The plan for the incorporation of medical cannabis in any case still has to receive the approval of the Ministry of Health. Until now, the opinion approved by Congress has had the support of the groups that make up the government coalition (PSOE and United We Can). While they have also aligned themselves with them Citizens, PNV and PDeCAT.
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