Medical Marijuana Follow Up Form Questions...

[t-pain]

a friend of mine got a form from his doctor to fill out (adult homework!)

 

it has questions on it like:

what conditions are you treating with medical marijuana

what other symptoms does medical marijuana help you with

how often and what amounts do you medicate with

 

now i'm thinking from a legal perspective, that this could be entered into evidence as testimony to help a section 8 defense. but then i thought about it, and was curious if it could be used as evidence against my friend?

 

section 8 requires the doctor to make a recommendation of marijuana to treat the patients condition.

what if my friend writes on there that it helps with insomnia or lifts his mood? since "debilitating medical conditions" is listed in sec 3, and moods or insomnia arent listed. would writing in conditions that arent in section 3 void his "medical use" ?

 

another question:

the form asks how many times per day the patient medicates.

if my friend wrote down 3x a day every day, and the prosecutor enters evidence that my friend was driving, could he be charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence? and having his "medical use" thrown out under section 7?

 

i understand a form like this may be used as research or a case study by his physician. but i wouldnt want my friend to get in any trouble by answering these questions.

 

any idea/help ? dr bob do you have a re-evaluation form? do you know if any prosecutors have dug around in patient charts for stuff like this?

[cristinew]

good questions,,,, and what is a legal follow up,, the supreams will have to decide this also,,

[Dr. Bob]

Funny you would describe the form I've been using since the Redden Case in 2010. Other doctors have copied it. It was designed specifically for the Section 8 defense back in 2010. Glad to see folks are catching up with what I've been promoting here for years. I approached the administration with the idea of getting a 'seal of MMMA approval' for doctors that met certain standards. Again back in 2010. Now the state has gone and done it for us, something we should have been working on years ago and self regulating. But advertising dollars and the idea that as long as it is a valid signature that is all you need spoke louder than I did.

 

My form has a simple format, because I am a simple guy.

 

1/ Who are you?

2/ What symptoms are you treating with what kind of marijuana?

3/ How is it working?

4/ Do you have questions or problems?

5/ Does your doctor have questions?

 

Pretty straight forward. And goes a LONG way to showing follow up in a section 8. I also provide FREE follow up visits, phone calls, etc for patients.

 

Under the new law, the physician has to have a 'reasonable expectation' they will provide follow up. I tell people to come back for a free follow up visit in 6 months at one of my offices or travel clinics. My website has phone and email to contact me, and many of you are my friends on facebook and contact me there. This can all be documented and again is FREE.

 

The problem I have is that this isn't new. It has been in place for years. Now that they are forced to do so, other places are trying to scramble and get into the system I set up when the CoA did Redden. Frankly, I've been opposed violently. Folks claiming the cost of certifications will go up because you have to pay full price for a follow up every 3 months (why every three months, and what don't you understand about FREE???) and when it is AGAIN explained, they just go to a different board and do it all over. Others opposed the standards, because they couldn't look past getting the signature on paper. No one from that group thought about the section 8 defense, what it involved, what you needed for it, or how much it would cost when they put out their 'opion' about what was and wasn't required for certs.

 

Well guys, I've been here for some time trying to keep patients safe and do this right. Glad it is finally making some sense to folks. Sorry you had to wait until your back was up against the wall and folks (even doctors) are getting arrested. Next time listen to those that know what they are talking about rather than banning them for saying the obvious.

 

By the way, tell me again about the 'legally compliant' farmers market?

 

Not angry, I'm here to help, but I am getting tired of the attacks.

 

Dr. Bob

[Dr. Bob]

To answer some of your specific questions. I frequently discuss insomnia and ptsd in the remarks. I note that the patient has 'this' qualifying condition that would benefit from cannabis, but 'that' non-qualifying condition would gain benefit as well. This is to get it into the record for that patient, and that condition, that in my medical opinion cannabis will help. But there is ALWAYS a qualifying condition present.

 

Second, multiple medication times. Don't medicate and drive. If you have to drive, don't medicate. If you do medicate and drive, don't get caught. Something about frequency of medication on a follow up form discusses how best to treat the condition, it does not provide evidence that you medicated that frequently before driving, that is up to the prosecutor to prove. Just because a dosing frequency is discussed, doesn't prove you followed it on the day you were caught.

 

Dr. Bob

[cristinew]

I talked to a clinic ,, they had no idea what the follow up should be,, clinics are rare around here, much harder now to find a good one that will do the correct follow up...

 

so a correct follow up could be a fill out questionier how the med are working a such, ,mail it to the Dr,, then speak to him directly on the phone?

 

the clinic i talked to said just call the clinic that should be a good follow up

[t-pain]

thank you dr bob, that was a very thorough answer. i really appreciate it.

i feel confident in telling my friend to fill out the form honestly now.

 

@ chrstinew : dr bob tried to get telemedicine into the 'bonafied doctor-patient relationship' but was ignored by the legislators.

so a telephone followup may work. but i think an in-person followup is best.

 

the form my friend got is just so the doctor doesnt have to spend time writing this all out.

my friend will still do an in-person followup.

 

even my doctor complained about getting writers cramp the last time i saw him.

so i am very happy that doctors have come up with some time saving ideas.

now they can spend more time on the patients concerns and less time on the dull form filling out.

[Dr. Bob]

In person or in the form of a form would be best. Telephone calls are not as easy to document in the patient chart. I burn a copy of the license/registration card and write a follow up note on the same paper. Then that goes in the chart. That way, every time a prosecutor tries to pull a fast one I can reach into the chart and pull out the written proof I did what he was asking about.

 

Again, safety by design.

 

Dr. Bob

[Dr. Bob]

I talked to a clinic ,, they had no idea what the follow up should be,, clinics are rare around here, much harder now to find a good one that will do the correct follow up...

 

so a correct follow up could be a fill out questionier how the med are working a such, ,mail it to the Dr,, then speak to him directly on the phone?

 

the clinic i talked to said just call the clinic that should be a good follow up

 

You talked to the wrong clinic obviously. Feel safer now that you realize they are clueless? Noticed your plug for them on UP Hemp.

 

Dr. Bob

[cristinew]

I am just looking for a response from ALL the clinics that come to this area, and i get a different response from them all,, you sir seem to have the best response so far,,

[cristinew]

Patients should demand a follow up appointment and a paper to fill out, if the clinic does not meet that requirement then tell them you will look elsewhere//

 

The New follow up law,, just may be a way for many PAs to say you do not have a bona fide patient dr relationship

 

also a good question

records of the patient's condition in accord with medically accepted standards.

 

and another .... follow-up care to the patient to monitor the efficacy of the use of medical marihuana as a treatment of the patient's debilitating medical condition.

 

apart who to say a PA will not pick this apart

Edited February 19, 2013 by cristinew

[cristinew]

if my friend wrote down 3x a day every day, hate to see that uses in court

[Dr. Bob]

if my friend wrote down 3x a day every day, hate to see that uses in court

 

That really isn't a worry. Doesn't work that way. Your friend is fine.

 

Dr. Bob