Member Spotlight: The Digital Health Assurance Company
Building Safer, Stronger Medical Cannabis Services
As the UK medical cannabis sector continues to develop, ensuring that clinical services are safe, effective and ready to deliver high-quality patient care is increasingly important.
In our latest CIC Member Spotlight, we speak to Nitin Makadia MRCPharm, Director of Clinical Service Development & Clinical Safety from The Digital Health Assurance Company (DHAC) about the importance of clinical governance, operational readiness and collaboration across the sector, and how CIC membership can help drive meaningful improvements in patient care.
Tell us a little about DHAC and the work you do.
DHAC helps healthcare organisations develop, register and operate safe, effective clinical services. We bring together expertise in clinical service development, CQC registration, medicines governance, clinical safety and quality assurance.
Medical cannabis is a particular area of focus within our wider healthcare work. We support both new entrants and established providers, connecting the patient pathway, workforce, technology and governance needed to deliver a coherent service.
Our work goes beyond preparing documentation. We help organisations translate their plans into everyday practice, with patient safety and quality of care at the centre of everything we do.
What prompted DHAC to join the Cannabis Industry Council?
Through our work with medical cannabis services, we see how decisions across the sector affect the care patients ultimately receive. Clinics, pharmacies, technology providers and the wider supply chain all have an important role to play.
Our involvement in the recent CIC MasterClass reinforced the value of bringing these different perspectives together.
Joining CIC felt like a natural next step, allowing us to contribute our healthcare and governance expertise while learning from others and supporting the responsible development of the sector.
What do you hope to gain from being part of the CIC community?
We’re looking forward to building relationships with members who share our commitment to improving standards and patient care.
We want to better understand the challenges facing different parts of the sector, exchange practical experience and identify opportunities for collaboration.
We’re also keen to contribute to discussions about how regulatory expectations can be translated into workable clinical services.
For us, CIC membership is an opportunity not only to learn from others but also to help turn shared ambitions into practical improvements.
What are the biggest priorities and challenges for DHAC and the wider sector over the coming year?
One of the biggest priorities is ensuring that clinical service development keeps pace with the sector’s ambitions.
CQC registration is an important milestone, but it’s only one part of the journey. A clinic must also have the right people, systems, clinical pathways and governance in place to deliver its intended service consistently.
At DHAC, our focus is on helping organisations establish operational readiness before launch and maintain quality assurance as they grow.
Across the wider sector, we see important priorities around medicines governance, continuity of care, meaningful patient outcome monitoring and professional confidence.
Ultimately, these are all essential to building trust through the quality of care that patients experience.
Where could greater collaboration across the sector make the biggest difference?
We believe the greatest opportunities lie at the points where patients and information move between organisations.
Stronger connections between clinics, pharmacies, technology providers and patients’ wider care teams could significantly improve coordination and reduce avoidable gaps in care.
Practical areas for collaboration include:
- More consistent product information.
- Clearer communication around prescribing and dispensing.
- Better access to relevant clinical records.
- Improved use of patient outcomes to inform treatment and care.
Effective collaboration should make it easier for each organisation to fulfil its responsibilities while ensuring patients experience a more joined-up healthcare journey.
Are there any recent developments you’d like to highlight or areas where you’d welcome collaboration with other CIC members?
We recently contributed to the CIC MasterClass with a session entitled “From Market Entry to Day-One Readiness: Building a CQC-Registered Medical Cannabis Clinic.”
The central message was that registration, clinic development and operational readiness need to progress together.
We’d welcome conversations with CIC members developing or strengthening clinical services, as well as pharmacies and technology providers interested in improving how those services connect.
Our particular areas of interest include clinical service development, medicines governance, clinical safety and practical approaches to ongoing assurance.
Connect with The Digital Health Assurance Company
DHAC welcomes opportunities to collaborate with CIC members and organisations committed to strengthening standards, improving patient safety and supporting the responsible development of the UK’s medical cannabis sector. Get in touch
