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Montana aims to curb mass medical pot screenings
By MATT VOLZ
Associated Press Writer
HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- The number of registered medical marijuana users in Montana has boomed from 800 to 12,000 in just two years, partly through mass patient screenings and the use of out-of-state doctors. Now the state medical board wants to curb those practices, saying not enough care is taken to properly diagnose patients.
A Montana Board of Medical Examiners review suggests people are being added to the state's medical marijuana registry who do not suffer from the chronic and debilitating conditions that are required for certification, Dr. Dean Center, a Bozeman physician and board member, told state lawmakers Tuesday.
"As everyone knows, the number of people being certified has just exploded," Center said. "The entrepreneurial spirit has taken hold."
Under scrutiny are clinics hosted by medical marijuana advocates that travel across the state with doctors who spend just a few minutes screening hundreds of potential patients. Then there are out-of-state physicians involved in medical marijuana screenings, sometimes using teleconferences or videoconferences to diagnose patients as having a qualifying condition.
The advocacy group Montana Caregivers Network hosted a round of clinics earlier this year and is gearing up for an 11-city tour of its "Cannabis Conventions" next month. The group's website also advertises "TeleClinic Statewide Daily Appointments" that says: "Visit the Doctor from anywhere! Got a computer? You can visit the doctor, online, and get your green card. Doctors are available all day long, every day!"
The medical board is preparing a position statement on adequate evaluation and monitoring of patients with chronic and debilitating illnesses. The statement that "will likely affect the process of mass screenings and may preclude remote electronic method of evaluation without some sort of modification or adjustment," Center said.
Center also said complaints against physicians who sign medical marijuana recommendations will be treated the same as those against doctors prescribing other forms of care, even though the language used in the medical marijuana law is different. Doctors "evaluate and certify" medical marijuana patients instead of the normal "diagnosing and prescribing."
He did not detail the changes the statement would make, nor did he say when they would become effective. Calls to the medical examiners board were not returned on Tuesday.
The number of medical marijuana patients in Montana began rising exponentially after the Obama administration changed federal policy last year to say it will not seek to arrest users and suppliers as long as they conform to state law.
At the end of March, there were 12,081 medical marijuana patients registered in the Montana, with more than 4,800 new patients added since the beginning of the year, according to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services.
There are also about 2,800 registered caregivers who provide marijuana to registered patients, according to the health department.
Jason Christ, the head of the Montana Caregivers Network, said it is the medical board's right to decide what constitutes a bona fide relationship between a doctor and a patient if it decides a change is needed in the screening process.
But it's hard to find doctors in Montana, especially for poor workers without access to heath care, Christ said.
"For a doctor to spend an hour for each patient, it would be prohibitive," he said.
Christ estimated the caregivers network has seen 15,000 potential patients in its nine-month existence and has kept records of each doctor visit.
Source: https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stori...TOL-?SITE=MTBOZ&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
By MATT VOLZ
Associated Press Writer
HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- The number of registered medical marijuana users in Montana has boomed from 800 to 12,000 in just two years, partly through mass patient screenings and the use of out-of-state doctors. Now the state medical board wants to curb those practices, saying not enough care is taken to properly diagnose patients.
A Montana Board of Medical Examiners review suggests people are being added to the state's medical marijuana registry who do not suffer from the chronic and debilitating conditions that are required for certification, Dr. Dean Center, a Bozeman physician and board member, told state lawmakers Tuesday.
"As everyone knows, the number of people being certified has just exploded," Center said. "The entrepreneurial spirit has taken hold."
Under scrutiny are clinics hosted by medical marijuana advocates that travel across the state with doctors who spend just a few minutes screening hundreds of potential patients. Then there are out-of-state physicians involved in medical marijuana screenings, sometimes using teleconferences or videoconferences to diagnose patients as having a qualifying condition.
The advocacy group Montana Caregivers Network hosted a round of clinics earlier this year and is gearing up for an 11-city tour of its "Cannabis Conventions" next month. The group's website also advertises "TeleClinic Statewide Daily Appointments" that says: "Visit the Doctor from anywhere! Got a computer? You can visit the doctor, online, and get your green card. Doctors are available all day long, every day!"
The medical board is preparing a position statement on adequate evaluation and monitoring of patients with chronic and debilitating illnesses. The statement that "will likely affect the process of mass screenings and may preclude remote electronic method of evaluation without some sort of modification or adjustment," Center said.
Center also said complaints against physicians who sign medical marijuana recommendations will be treated the same as those against doctors prescribing other forms of care, even though the language used in the medical marijuana law is different. Doctors "evaluate and certify" medical marijuana patients instead of the normal "diagnosing and prescribing."
He did not detail the changes the statement would make, nor did he say when they would become effective. Calls to the medical examiners board were not returned on Tuesday.
The number of medical marijuana patients in Montana began rising exponentially after the Obama administration changed federal policy last year to say it will not seek to arrest users and suppliers as long as they conform to state law.
At the end of March, there were 12,081 medical marijuana patients registered in the Montana, with more than 4,800 new patients added since the beginning of the year, according to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services.
There are also about 2,800 registered caregivers who provide marijuana to registered patients, according to the health department.
Jason Christ, the head of the Montana Caregivers Network, said it is the medical board's right to decide what constitutes a bona fide relationship between a doctor and a patient if it decides a change is needed in the screening process.
But it's hard to find doctors in Montana, especially for poor workers without access to heath care, Christ said.
"For a doctor to spend an hour for each patient, it would be prohibitive," he said.
Christ estimated the caregivers network has seen 15,000 potential patients in its nine-month existence and has kept records of each doctor visit.
Source: https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stori...TOL-?SITE=MTBOZ&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT