Medicinal cannabis healthcare journeys to be mapped

The experiences of New Zealand’s healthcare professionals in accessing, prescribing and dispensing medicinal cannabis products are to be mapped as part of a new initiative.

New Zealand’s largest medicinal cannabis company, Helius Therapeutics, together with post-graduate students from the University of Auckland, are calling on prescribers and pharmacists to share their experiences in the evolving field of cannabinoid medicine.

Patients’ journeys will also be comprehensively documented to understand the end-to-end customer experience and to help determine areas for improvement.

“As our nascent industry evolves, this work is critical to delivering quality medical experiences. As well as patients’ journeys, it’s important to understand the experiences of New Zealand's healthcare professionals as they prepare to navigate this new field of clinical practice,” says Paul Manning, Chief Executive of Helius Therapeutics.

Journey mapping is well-established, with healthcare leaders using it to better understand how patients interact with the health system throughout their care journey. Mapping patients’ touch points during each stage of interaction will also help the industry improve medicinal cannabis patient engagement and satisfaction.

Mr Manning says today’s medicinal cannabis consumers will closely evaluate options and be motivated to conduct extensive research before engaging a healthcare provider.

“Customer journey mapping helps us to understand how patients discover, evaluate, select, purchase and consume medicinal cannabis products or related healthcare services. It can also expose pain points and opportunities for improvement – not just as they relate to access, but the overall process and customer service,” he says.

As well as identifying touchpoints between the health system and the patient, other factors that might influence a patient’s medicinal cannabis decisions or ability to move forward will be mapped and assessed. These include timelines, internal factors within the health system, external factors beyond the health system, cost, prescriber knowledge, and a range of other potential barriers.

Helius and the University of Auckland want to get in touch with physicians, pharmacists, and patients who would be happy to be interviewed online, one-to-one, and talk about their medical cannabis experiences. Participants’ details will remain confidential.

Those interested should email University of Auckland course co-ordinator Charlotta Windahl at c.windahl@ac.nz. Participants will then be put in direct contact with a post-graduate researcher.

“We look forward to exploring Kiwis’ medicinal cannabis journeys and applying these insights to improve the overall experience for patients and healthcare professionals alike. Ultimately, this research will help New Zealand create a world-class medicinal cannabis products and healthcare experiences,” says Paul Manning.