Hon. Sophia Moermond asks about drug testing guidelines, data retention, and treatment refusal for ADHD patients with cannabis use. The Minister for Health provides information on stimulant prescribing guidelines and data collection related to high-risk patients, but states no data is collected on ADHD treatment refusal due to cannabis use.

AnsweredQoN 1001Legislative Council
Asked
12 September 2023
Portfolio
Health

QuestionView source ↗

HEALTH — PATIENTS — DRUG TESTING
1001. Hon SOPHIA MOERMOND to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Medicines and
Poisons Act 2014, which makes stipulations regarding reporting of drug
dependence among patients by authorised health personnel.
(1) What guidelines and regulations does the
Department of Health provide for psychiatrists and paediatricians regarding drug-testing regimes among patients?
(2) What data is
retained by the Department of Health regarding the presence of drugs, including
cannabis, among psychiatric patients?
(3) Does the
Department of Health have data on how many people diagnosed with ADHD are being
refused treatment due to the presence of cannabis in their system?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The schedule 8
prescribing code suggests urine drug screening may be included as part of a clinical assessment of risk prior to commencing
treatment with stimulant medicines in patients over 13 years of age.
(2) If a patient meets the defined high-risk criteria
under the schedule 8 prescribing code, stimulant prescribers provide
urine drug screen results to the Department of Health as part of the
application process for authorisation to prescribe.
(3) No.

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