In her bi-weekly series for Cannabis Health, Dr Sue Clenton, Consultant Oncologist and Medical Director at Releaf Cannabis Clinic, shares her insight from the front line of an emerging field of medicine, taking readers inside the clinic and offering a doctor’s perspective on what it really means to prescribe cannabis medicines in the UK today.
In this latest instalment, Dr Clenton discusses how Releaf tracks patient outcomes through follow-up and data.
While the awareness of medical cannabis and its therapeutic effects in a range of chronic health conditions is growing, if we want these medicines to be taken seriously by regulators, clinicians, and the wider healthcare system, we have to move beyond anecdotes and into accountability.
There remains a need for robust, high-quality evidence not only to build credibility but to ensure safe and responsible practice. That means measuring what we do, and being prepared to learn from it.
The importance of patient outcomes
At Releaf cannabis clinic, we see tracking patient outcomes as the foundation of responsible care. During each consultation, we evaluate efficacy, side effects, and tolerability, placing a strong emphasis on structured, measurable outcomes.
We use validated Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) – internationally recognised tools which are widely used in clinical trials and research settings. These include condition-specific measures for pain, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, and overall quality of life, alongside broader tools such as EQ-5D.
Releaf patients complete these PROMs before starting treatment and then again at three, six, nine, and 12 months, allowing them to score their own symptoms over time. From this data, we can track changes in pain levels, functional ability, and quality of life.
Using tools that are trusted by the scientific and academic community allows us to collect high-quality real-world data that helps us move beyond simply recognising that a patient feels better to understanding and demonstrating how things have changed.
Building the database
While treatment response and tolerability are reviewed regularly during all our consultations, PROMs add a layer of insight that can help identify broader patterns over time.
Thousands of Releaf patients have already completed the questionnaires, and we’re channeling resources into outreach to improve uptake and expand our database.
If outcomes suggest a patient isn’t responding to a certain treatment, we adapt their treatment plan. When a particular approach works well for a specific symptom or condition, clinicians are encouraged to share insights and information so that this knowledge may benefit other patients.
Data is the foundation of responsible practice
From a scientific and commissioning point of view, all credible evidence has a role ton play in making regulators and clinicians more comfortable with cannabis-based medicines.
Real-world data is not a replacement for randomised controlled trials, but it is a bridge to help close the evidence gap. Unlike clinical trials, it allows us to understand what happens outside the artificial constraints of a study, in patients with complex conditions.
Measured outcomes provide the foundations for the high-quality evidence base that NICE, commissioners, and fellow clinicians have called for before these treatments are prescribed more widely through the NHS.
Ensuring compassion at scale
While outcome data helps us understand what is happening, individual patient stories remind us why this matters.
At Releaf, we often say we are not trying to do 20,000 consultations – we are trying to do one consultation well, 20,000 times.
As patient numbers grow, we also grow our clinical team, nursing support, and patient services alongside them, to ensure we can continue to deliver personalised care at scale.
Patient feedback also drives change beyond direct prescribing. We have implemented a formal process for capturing ideas from patient support teams and clinicians, and take on board both positive and critical comments on everything from educational materials to packaging decisions to our website content.
Focus on outcomes, not opinions
By placing patient outcomes at the centre of its clinical model, Releaf is sending a clear message that these experiences are worth measuring and that emerging treatments can and should be held to the same standards as established ones.
It won’t be opinions that help shift medical cannabis into the mainstream, but tangible outcomes.
The post Bridging the Gap with Dr Sue Clenton: Measuring Care – Why Outcomes Matter More Than Opinions appeared first on Cannabis Health News.
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