Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Staten Island, New York - A a result of the relentless, passionate and persistent efforts of state Sen. Diane Savino, medical marijuana is now legal in New York.
But for Staten Island patients who meet the well-defined criteria for obtaining a prescription - there are unnecessary and frustrating obstacles to navigate.
As a medication, its use is limited to patient suffering from a number of specific conditions, including seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, cancer and HIV/AIDS.
If any of the other medications used to treat any of those conditions - one of the newer oral chemotherapy cancer drugs, for example - were as difficult for a borough resident to access, there would be an uproar.
Well, in the case of medical marijuana (perhaps because of the controversy surrounding it) there hasn't been a outcry for reform, but Sen. Savino is engaged in efforts to streamline the process.
We support those efforts and urge the state Health Department - the agency behind that time-consuming maze - to act quickly to ease the entirely unnecessary burden these patients face.
There are no dispensaries on Staten Island and chances are slim there will be one anytime soon. That alone is very good reason to remove at least some of the hoops patients now need to jump through.
Physicians must obtain state certification that allows them to prescribe the medication. But for patients who think they might benefit from medical marijuana, there isn't a state Health Department listing of doctors who have obtained certification.
There is a state referral system that only physicians can access. If a doctor isn't certified to dispense medical marijuana, he or she can look at the state Heath Department's portal for a doctor who is certified and then can refer the patient to one of those physicians.
But if the patient's primary doctor doesn't believe in the use of medical marijuana to treat an illness, and refuses to find a referral, the patient is stuck.
"Your doctor can find you a referring physicians, but if he/she refuses to do so, you have a problem," stated Sen. Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), who sponsored the Senate bill that created the program.
"Patients are waiting and it's unfair to finally have access to something that, after years of suffering and being forced to rely on highly dangerous drugs, to be denied because they can't get access to a physician who would be willing to treat them," Sen. Savino told the Advance.
Because of this, Savino has had ongoing discussions with the Department of Health to make the list of certified doctors public. But there are legal obstacles that are getting in the way.
State privacy laws prohibit the Health Department from publishing the names of doctors who participate without approval from the physicians.
Sen. Savino recognizes the problem, but is pressing the agency for a fix.
"It's incumbent upon the Department of Health to come up with a solution for this problem. If they are going to become the custodian of a list and they're not going to allow it to be published then they have to figure out a way for patients who inquire and are eligible to have access to a referral. Let the Health Department do the referral then," said Sen. Savino.
Why not? That would go a long way to solving the problem Island patients face.
Sen. Savino also is suggesting another change that would ease the burden, and would be done under the supervision of a physician.
Right now, only doctors can be certified to write medical marijuana prescriptions. Sen. Savino is suggesting that the Health Department also allow nurse practitioners to become certified. (They already are permitted to issue prescriptions for many types of medication.) And this move to make the medication more easily accessible would not require additional legislative action.
"The law allows the Health Department commissioner to add nurse practitioners without us passing an amendment. Nurse practitioners have stated publicly they are very in favor of this law," Sen. Savino said.
At the very least, the agency should comply with Sen. Savino's request, and then move to smooth the process at the more complex levels.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana - Remove The Obstacles
Author: Staten Island Advance Editorial
Contact: 718-981-1234
Photo Credit: Tracey Porpora
Website: Staten Island Local News
But for Staten Island patients who meet the well-defined criteria for obtaining a prescription - there are unnecessary and frustrating obstacles to navigate.
As a medication, its use is limited to patient suffering from a number of specific conditions, including seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, cancer and HIV/AIDS.
If any of the other medications used to treat any of those conditions - one of the newer oral chemotherapy cancer drugs, for example - were as difficult for a borough resident to access, there would be an uproar.
Well, in the case of medical marijuana (perhaps because of the controversy surrounding it) there hasn't been a outcry for reform, but Sen. Savino is engaged in efforts to streamline the process.
We support those efforts and urge the state Health Department - the agency behind that time-consuming maze - to act quickly to ease the entirely unnecessary burden these patients face.
There are no dispensaries on Staten Island and chances are slim there will be one anytime soon. That alone is very good reason to remove at least some of the hoops patients now need to jump through.
Physicians must obtain state certification that allows them to prescribe the medication. But for patients who think they might benefit from medical marijuana, there isn't a state Health Department listing of doctors who have obtained certification.
There is a state referral system that only physicians can access. If a doctor isn't certified to dispense medical marijuana, he or she can look at the state Heath Department's portal for a doctor who is certified and then can refer the patient to one of those physicians.
But if the patient's primary doctor doesn't believe in the use of medical marijuana to treat an illness, and refuses to find a referral, the patient is stuck.
"Your doctor can find you a referring physicians, but if he/she refuses to do so, you have a problem," stated Sen. Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), who sponsored the Senate bill that created the program.
"Patients are waiting and it's unfair to finally have access to something that, after years of suffering and being forced to rely on highly dangerous drugs, to be denied because they can't get access to a physician who would be willing to treat them," Sen. Savino told the Advance.
Because of this, Savino has had ongoing discussions with the Department of Health to make the list of certified doctors public. But there are legal obstacles that are getting in the way.
State privacy laws prohibit the Health Department from publishing the names of doctors who participate without approval from the physicians.
Sen. Savino recognizes the problem, but is pressing the agency for a fix.
"It's incumbent upon the Department of Health to come up with a solution for this problem. If they are going to become the custodian of a list and they're not going to allow it to be published then they have to figure out a way for patients who inquire and are eligible to have access to a referral. Let the Health Department do the referral then," said Sen. Savino.
Why not? That would go a long way to solving the problem Island patients face.
Sen. Savino also is suggesting another change that would ease the burden, and would be done under the supervision of a physician.
Right now, only doctors can be certified to write medical marijuana prescriptions. Sen. Savino is suggesting that the Health Department also allow nurse practitioners to become certified. (They already are permitted to issue prescriptions for many types of medication.) And this move to make the medication more easily accessible would not require additional legislative action.
"The law allows the Health Department commissioner to add nurse practitioners without us passing an amendment. Nurse practitioners have stated publicly they are very in favor of this law," Sen. Savino said.
At the very least, the agency should comply with Sen. Savino's request, and then move to smooth the process at the more complex levels.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana - Remove The Obstacles
Author: Staten Island Advance Editorial
Contact: 718-981-1234
Photo Credit: Tracey Porpora
Website: Staten Island Local News
