Medical Cannabis Use and Healthcare Utilization Among Patients with Chronic Pain: A Causal Inference Analysis Using TMLE.

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic pain affects approximately 20% of U.S. adults, imposing significant burdens on individuals and healthcare systems. Medical cannabis has emerged as a potential therapy, yet its impact on healthcare utilization remains unclear.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed administrative data from a telehealth platform providing medical cannabis certifications across 36 U.S. states. Patients were classified as cannabis-exposed if they had used cannabis in the past year, while unexposed patients had no prior cannabis use. Outcomes included self-reported urgent care visits, emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and quality of life (QoL), measured using the CDC's Healthy Days measure. Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation with SuperLearner estimated causal effects, adjusting for numerous covariates.

Results: Medical cannabis users exhibited significantly lower healthcare utilization. Specifically, exposure was associated with a 2.0 percentage point reduction in urgent care visits (95% CI: -0.036, -0.004), a 3.2 percentage point reduction in ED visits (95% CI: -0.051, -0.012) and fewer unhealthy days per month (-3.52 days, 95% CI: -4.28, -2.76). Hospitalization rates trended lower but were not statistically significant. Covariate balance and propensity score overlap indicated well-fitting models.

Conclusions: Medical cannabis use was associated with reduced healthcare utilization and improved self-reported QoL among chronic pain patients.