Poll Shows Medical Cannabis Patients Feel Taken Advantage of; New Online Portal Puts Patients First

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 6, 2020 /CNW/ - Patient Choice, a scrappy new Canadian start-up, says that easy and affordable access to medical cannabis is unnecessarily difficult to find for patients. 

"Medical cannabis patients deserve convenience, choice, and competitive pricing," said Joel Taylor, Co-Founder of Patient Choice. "Right now, accessing medical cannabis is unnecessarily expensive and difficult, and people are being pushed back to the illicit market. Patients are getting the short end of the stick, so we've built something with freedom and fairness in mind for both patients and providers." 

The Patient Choice model puts patients first. A previously unreleased poll examining medical cannabis in Canada suggests that the vast majority of patients believe that they are being taken advantage of, and that the current medical distribution model is ripe for disruption that makes things better for both patients and providers. 

• 72% of Canadians and 82% of medical cannabis patients agree that "Physicians who prescribe medical cannabis should give their patients a choice of suppliers and products."
• 70% of Canadians and 71% of medical cannabis patients agree that "if clinics that prescribe medication to patients are paid directly by the producers of that medication, that's a conflict of interest. 
• 70% of Canadians and 91% of medical cannabis patients agree that "Physicians providing specialized consultations to patients considering using medical cannabis should be paid for by provincial health care plans, like other medical appointments."

The Patient Choice platform – online at www.patient-choice.com –  gives medical cannabis patients flexible and convenient freedom to purchase their supply from a range of different providers competitively priced on one platform. Once your medical document is securely registered with Patient Choice, there's no need to re-register with different cultivators every time you want to try something new. And if your primary provider runs out of a preferred medication, you have seamless access to every other producer and processor on the platform, with no hassle or delay ensuring you always have access to the medication you need.

Patient Choice is already carrying a variety of different product formats including flower, oils, tinctures, and vapes. With an increasing number of Canadian patients authorized for personal or designated cultivation, Patient Choice also serves the critical niche market for growing materials, including seeds and plants. The range of available growing materials will continue to expand as live plant delivery logistics are strengthened across Canada.

Initial supplier partnerships include Artiva, Weathered Islands, Medz Cannabis, Greenway Greenhouse, TGOD, Bonify, Tantalus, Virtue Cannabis Co, GTEC's Alberta Craft Cannabis, and Heritage Cannabis's Pura Vida and Purafarm brands.

Patient Choice is continuing to onboard suppliers. Producers, processors, and nurseries interested in listing their products on the platform at no upfront cost are encouraged to get in touch for more information. 

Survey results are based on an online study conducted by ResearchCo on December 18 and December 19, 2019, among 1,000 adults in Canada, as the Patient Choice model was being developed. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

Learn more at www.patient-choice.com.

About Patient Choice:

Patient Choice is a Health Canada licensed online medical platform that connects medical cannabis patients, licensed producers, and processors. Our goal is to give both patients and providers more choice and a better deal, while keeping things simple for prescribing healthcare professionals.

SOURCE Patient Choice

PR Contact, Robyn Rabinovich, [email protected]