This Patient Resource Portal has everything you need to begin your health journey with Polln.
Here, you’ll find valuable information about how to navigate the Polln platform, what to expect during and after your consultation and how to make the most of your medicinal cannabis journey
Thanks for signing up as a Polln patient.
You’ve just taken the first step in your journey towards better health!
Book and pay for your initial consultation with a Polln doctor using the booking function on your patient dashboard. To complete your booking, you will be required to verify your Digital iD™ – a simple and secure way to verify your identity online.
Digital iD™ is necessary for our partner pharmacies to verify your identity - so we know your treatments are going to the right person. It's a simple and secure way to ensure your personal information, including biometric data, is securely encrypted and stored - so you can stay in control of your identity details. Your personal information can’t be unlocked or decrypted without your permission, and no one from Australia Post or Digital iD™ can access or view your data. You can learn more about it here.
It’s a quick and simple process:
Click ‘New to Digital iD™’ and follow the prompts - make sure you have a form of ID with you such as an Australian Drivers’ Licence or Passport.
If this is your first consultation and you would like to transfer your Health Summary from your existing GP or health clinic, please let the Care Team know.
A Health Summary from your existing GP can help your Polln doctor get an overview of your condition and any treatments you may have tried so they can tailor a treatment plan that works best for you.
During your Initial Consultation, you can expect to spend 30 minutes of dedicated, one on one time with your doctor using the in-built video feature in your patient dashboard. This time is for your doctor to get to know you, your condition, your symptoms and your goals for treatment.
Any information you share with your doctor will help them determine whether medical cannabis might be right for you and tailor a treatment plan suited to your needs and goals.
By coming prepared with information about your condition, previous treatments and why you think natural therapies like medicinal cannabis may be right for you, you will be well-equipped to guide the conversation with your doctor and help them assist you in getting the treatment and result you desire.
To be eligible for medical cannabis access in Australia, you must:
There may be other factors that your doctor will take into consideration when determining your eligibility for treatment, such as your medical history, current medications or allergies, whether you are pregnant or trying to conceive, and more.
If your doctor finds that medicinal cannabis is not a suitable treatment for you at this time, they will provide you with alternative treatment options or suggestions to help you reach your health goals.
If your doctor determines that medicinal cannabis is a suitable treatment for you, they will discuss which medicinal cannabis products, formats and delivery methods may be right for you and your condition so you can decide on a medication or combination of medications together. They will also provide you an overview of what to expect with your prescribed medication – including dosage, effects and side effects, costs and follow-up appointments.
At Polln, we take a holistic, patient-first approach to healthcare, so your doctor may also suggest other non-cannabis options for care – such as lifestyle changes, supplements or other therapies – to complement your treatment plan.
Your doctor will discuss the following topics with you during your consultation. If for any reason you feel you need further clarification, please do not hesitate to ask your doctor at the end of the consultation.
Polln is an entirely digital healthcare clinic, so all our consultations are conducted online via your patient dashboard. In the lead-up to your consultation, you’ll receive reminders from the Care Team about when and how to access your consultation.
We won’t send you a link to join the video call with your doctor directly, you’ll simply access the consultation via the in-built feature on your Polln dashboard, in the same spot that you will have booked your consultation.
For the best experience, we recommend our patients use Google Chrome on a laptop or desktop computer, but any browser or device with a microphone and internet connection will work.
If you experience any technical issues or can’t access your dashboard at the time of your consultation, please contact the Care Team by calling 1300 176 556 so we can help you resolve any issues or arrange for your doctor to call you to conduct a phone consultation instead.
For any after hours appointments, outside the hours of 9:00am - 5:30pm AEST, the Care Team will get back to you the following business day.
Once you’ve finished your consultation with your Polln doctor, you’ll receive updates about the progress of your prescription.
Keep an eye out for email and SMS updates from the Care Team or check your patient dashboard so you know what’s happening next.
If your doctor decides that medical cannabis is suitable for you, a prescription will be written and uploaded to your patient profile within 1–2 business days. Once uploaded by your doctor, scripts can be accessed in the ‘Prescriptions’ and ‘Documents’ sections of your dashboard.
These uploaded scripts are for your reference only, as they will be filled and dispensed by our Care Team – via our partner pharmacy – before being delivered to you directly by express post. So you won’t have to order or collect treatments from a pharmacy yourself. We do that for you!
In some cases, your doctor may also have to apply to the TGA for access to these medications on your behalf. This can take an additional 1–2 business days.
Once your script has been uploaded, an invoice will be sent to your email for payment within 24 hours.
Once your approved prescription has been uploaded to your dashboard, our Care Team will send an invoice to your email for payment. This invoice will include the cost of your medication/s and a $15 AUD Australia-wide delivery fee.
The email invoice we send you will contain a link for you to pay for your treatments online. Simply follow the prompts to make payment. We support all Visa, Mastercard, AMEX and PayPal payments. Once we’ve received your payment, we will be able to arrange for your medications to be delivered to you via our partner pharmacy.
Once paid for, your treatments will be express shipped to your preferred address by our partner pharmacy. Once dispatched, your treatments may take 2–5 business days to arrive.
Once your treatments and shipping have been paid for, we will arrange for them to be express shipped directly to the address listed on your patient profile, via our partner pharmacy. You will be able to confirm your delivery address is correct at the time of payment.
If your products are in stock at our partner pharmacy, they will be dispatched within 1 business day of receiving payment. In some cases we may need to order your medication directly from the supplier, which can cause an additional delay of 2–5 business days.
You will receive an email with tracking details once your order has been dispatched from our partner pharmacy.
To ensure your privacy and the safe delivery of your treatments, all of our pharmacy deliveries require a signature upon acceptance. Please ensure you have allocated a delivery address where someone will be available to sign for your delivery between the hours of 9 AM–5 PM, Monday to Friday. If no one is home, your package will be taken to the nearest post office for later collection.
Follow your treatment plan as advised by your doctor. Be sure to monitor the effects of your treatment so you can update your doctor on your progress at your follow up consultations.
Everyone is unique, with bodies, tolerances, needs and preferences that differ from person to person. That’s why it can be tricky to know what dose will work for you and your body. Because unlike most other medications, there’s no standard dose when it comes to medicinal cannabis.
Finding your ideal dosage
The best approach to dosing medicinal cannabis is to start low, go slow.Your doctor will be able to help guide you on the correct starting dosage for your individual condition and needs, and will work with you to arrive at the dosage you’ll need to take consistently to produce the desired effect. Getting to this point requires a bit of patience. Follow these steps to find your ideal dosage:
1. Start low and go slow
In your consultation, your doctor will have discussed your starting dose range with you. Always start with a dose on the lower end of that spectrum and wait until the estimated onset time for your particular product to see if you begin to feel any therapeutic benefits or side effects.
If you’re not feeling the desired effects, you can adjust your dose by an amount advised by your doctor until you find your ‘sweet spot,’ ensuring you stick to that dose for at least two to three days each time you increase to give your body a chance to adjust. This process of determining the minimal amount of your medicine that will give you your desired results with minimal side effects is known as titration.
When it comes to medicinal cannabis, titration also involves finding the right balance between the different cannabinoid components (eg. THC and CBD) in your medication, your condition and your body’s individual response.
2. Stay consistent
Cannabinoids take time to build up their effect within your body. For best results, make sure you’re sticking to your treatment plan consistently. A small but consistent dose over a long period of time has been found to be the best way to treat chronic conditions with medicinal cannabis.
3. Less is sometimes more
Depending on your condition, when it comes to dosing medicinal cannabis, more is not always better. When treating conditions like epilepsy, a high dose of cannabinoids such as CBD may be needed to help treat seizures. But for conditions like anxiety, a moderate to low dose will actually be more effective than a high dose. Ensure you’re working with your doctor to figure out what dose works best for you.
4. Pay attention to your body
Like with any medicine, your ideal dosage of cannabis can change over time. Whether increasing or decreasing your dosage, the important thing is to listen to your body and what it needs. Go to the next section for more information about how to monitor your progress as you start taking your cannabis treatment.
Once you’ve started taking your prescribed medication, it’s important to monitor your progress so you can find what works best for you over time. Pay attention to:
Through monitoring your symptoms as well as careful dosing and titration of your medication, you and your doctor should be able to find an ideal dose and medication type for you and your needs.
Like any medicine – plant-based or otherwise – the effects of medicinal cannabis will vary from person to person. Side effects and their severity will depend on the type of medicinal cannabis prescribed and how it is used, as well as individual factors like your weight and metabolism. While CBD generally has a narrow side effect profile, THC is a psychotropic cannabinoid with effects that are typically associated with feeling ‘high’. It is important to note that the therapeutic benefits of medicinal cannabis can still be achieved without producing this ‘high’ feeling.
Potential side effects of medicinal cannabis can include:
Your prescribing doctor will discuss any potential side effects of your treatment plan during your consultation. Once you receive your medications, ensure you follow the dosing instructions provided to you by your doctor. If you have any questions about your medication, dosing requirements or treatment side effects, you can contact the Care Team who can review your treatment plan or reach out to your doctor for further advice.
If you experience any severe adverse effects or believe you are having a medical emergency and need immediate care, call 000 or go straight to the Emergency Department at your nearest hospital.
Medicinal cannabis is a very personal treatment. What works best for one person may not always work for another. If you feel your medication is not working for you and you want to stop taking it, you are welcome to contact the Care Team who can reach out to your prescribing doctor for advice on how to proceed with your treatment plan.
If you are wanting to try a new type of medication that you do not currently have a prescription for or get further guidance from your practitioner, you will need to book a follow up consultation with your Polln doctor.
Our Care Team is here for you throughout your Polln journey. Reach out at any time if you have questions or need additional support with your treatment plan, bookings or prescriptions.
If you have repeat scripts on file, you can request to access these by contacting the Care Team. If you do not have access to repeat scripts and want to access further or new medication scripts, you can book a follow up consultation with your Polln doctor.
The Care Team will reach out to remind you to access your prescriptions if they are due to expire. Prescriptions for Schedule 8 Medications expire after 6 months, while prescriptions for Schedule 4 Medications expire after 12 Months. Scripts not accessed in this timeframe will become invalid and you will need to book a follow up consultation with your doctor to obtain a new prescription.
Check your prescription or contact the Care Team if you are unsure when your prescriptions are due to expire.
Follow up consultations can be booked and attended via your Polln patient dashboard. We generally recommend all first-time patients book a follow up consultation 1 month after your initial consult, with regular check-ins every 3 months from there (or as advised by your doctor).
We have two types of follow up consultations available:
Consultations are booked and paid for using your Polln patient dashboard, in the same way you booked your Initial Consultation. We recommend booking consultations in advance to ensure you can meet with your preferred doctor at a time that suits you and so you can receive your prescribed medications when you need them.
Our Library of Medicinal Cannabis is continually updated to provide you with the most accurate, up-to-date information about medicinal cannabis as a patient in Australia. While our Glossary of Medicinal Cannabis terms can help you unpack the language around cannabis.
Here are some of our top recommended articles for patients who are getting started in their medical cannabis journey:
Call us Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm AEST at 1300 176 556 or email hello@polln.com and one of our friendly team members will be in touch.
