Pharmacist-led venture launches Canada’s first direct-to-consumer consulting service for medical cannabis

Patients interested in using cannabis to address their health conditions but who aren’t sure which products and dosages are best don’t have to rely on Dr. Google anymore. Apothecare Inc., a Toronto-based medical cannabis education company founded by pharmacists Anushya Vijayaraghevan and Ajay Chahal, recently launched what it says is Canada’s first direct-to-consumer consulting platform for medical cannabis. “Through our platform, patients are able to book . . . cannabis consultations with us directly and then we coordinate a disease-based recommendation—which also looks at their current medications to make sure there are no significant interactions,” explained Chahal, a University of Toronto-trained pharmacist with expertise in mental health and addiction. As an additional step, Apothecare Inc. coordinates product selection with partner Insalata Cannabis Market, a recreational cannabis retailer—with five locations in Ontario—focused on non-carcinogenic, non-smokeable product formats. Insalata has a unique go-to-market strategy that calls for locating every store beside a Wholehealth Pharmacy to give customers easy access to next-door pharmacist counselling on the medical use of cannabis—something that recreational cannabis retail employees are not allowed to provide. Apothecare bolsters this ecosystem by providing in-depth medical education cannabis to pharmacists. Read: No budtenders here: How Insalata Cannabis is building its business on pharmacists' recommendations With its new direct-to-consumer offering, Apothecare hopes to make it easier for patients to get the evidence-based information they need. By providing this service, Apothecare also aims to help time-crunched healthcare providers. “We're seeing an influx of inquiries coming in and it can be quite overwhelming for pharmacists, who have to deal with other tasks,” said Vijayaraghevan, who is also a pharmacy owner at Wholehealth and head of cannabis research at Insalata. “Some of these consultations in the pharmacy environment can take 30 minutes with one patient or even longer for complex patients. It’s not always feasible for pharmacists, whereas at Apothecare, we would have a dedicated time slot for patients.” Apothecare consultations, which are not covered under provincial health insurance, start at $79 for a 30-minute consultation. The company is encouraging patients to sign up for subscriptions, which cost $90 for the year and include additional benefits such as follow-up consultations and a 10% discount at Insalata. At present, Apothecare is available only to Ontario patients but the company has plans to expand to the rest of the country, said Chahal. Read: Meet Young Leader in Pharmacy Anushya Vijayaraghevan

Pharmacist-led venture launches Canada’s first direct-to-consumer consulting service for medical cannabis

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