Academic-industry partnership advancing cannabis science: A Complementary Care Practice-Based Research Network

Area of Science:

• Cannabis Science
• Complementary and Integrative Medicine
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Routine clinical data can inform hypothesis generation and study feasibility.
• No existing practice-based research networks in Florida focus on complementary care or medical marijuana.
• An academic-industry partnership aimed to establish a network for cannabis science research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a practice-based research network focused on cannabis science.
• To create a de-identified database for analysis and hypothesis generation.
• To facilitate patient recruitment for future research studies.

Main Methods:

• Established the Complementary Care Practice-Based Research Network (CC-PBRN).
• Created a centralized repository of electronic health records (EHR).
• Data sourced from a private medical cannabis health system in Florida.

Main Results:

• The CC-PBRN includes 43,802 active patients.
• The network comprises 24 clinics across North, Central, and South Florida.
• Cross-sectional descriptive analyses of the patient population were performed.

Conclusions:

• The CC-PBRN is a statewide resource for patient-reported outcomes (PRO) research in medical marijuana.
• The network offers a large patient pool for observational studies and clinical trials.
• Outpatient practices within the network can serve as units for pragmatic trials.