Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
With less than three months to go until the launch of New York's medical marijuana program, the State Department of Health on Tuesday announced it has launched an online education course for health practitioners.
The four-hour course is designed for physicians in good standing who wish to issue "certifications" to allow patients to receive medical marijuana products.
Dr. Howard Zucker, state health commissioner, said the course materials will give practitioners information to consider when determining which patients may benefit from medical marijuana.
"Registering practitioners is the first and most critical aspect toward ensuring that medical marijuana is available for certified patients with serious conditions, and that it is dispensed and administered in a manner that ensures public health and safety," he said.
According to the DOH, the course includes information about the pharmacology of marijuana, contraindications, adverse reactions, drug interactions, dosing, routes of administration, risks and benefits as well as abuse and dependence. Practitioners will pay $249 to take the course, and those who successfully complete it will earn 4.5 hours of continuing medical education (CME) credit. They'll also be eligible to register online after providing other required documentation.
Physicians must also be qualified to treat patients with one of more of the conditions the DOH has designated to be applicable for medical marijuana treatment, including cancer, HIV/AIDS and neuropathy and Huntington's disease. The patient also must have such symptoms as severe or chronic pain, nausea, seizures or wasting syndrome.
Physicians in Western New York and across the state have been asking for months for additional information so they can be prepared when the program begins in January. Dr. Laszlo Mechtler, medical director of Dent Neurologic Institute and Roswell Park Cancer Institute's chief of neuro-oncology, told Business First the online course will help expedite training.
"This way, physicians have the flexibility to take it after-hours," he said.
Still unknown, he said, is whether the training will give physicians the information they need to determine which marijuana strains and products will be best to treat each condition specified by the DOH. Mechtler also questioned whether the products will actually be ready to distribute by January, but the law prohibits licensees from bringing in marijuana from outside the state.
"Even though you may have physicians ready by January 2016, I'm not sure the harvesting will be ready," he said. "The other problem is it's still a federally illegal drug, so you can't cross state lines and you can't mail it. I think there will be issues, especially early in 2016."
Several of the companies licensed by New York to grow and distribute medical marijuana have also said they plan to provide educational materials for both physicians and patients themselves, similar to how pharmaceutical companies educate their customers. Two dispensaries are planned for Erie County.
The state awarded licenses through its Compassionate Care Act to five companies this summer to build facilities, grow medical marijuana and have distribution systems set up and ready to go by January 2016.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Online Physician's Training Established To Aid Doctors With MMJ Aspirations
Author: Tracey Drury
Contact: Feedback Page
Photo Credit: Mike Groll
Website: Biz Journals
The four-hour course is designed for physicians in good standing who wish to issue "certifications" to allow patients to receive medical marijuana products.
Dr. Howard Zucker, state health commissioner, said the course materials will give practitioners information to consider when determining which patients may benefit from medical marijuana.
"Registering practitioners is the first and most critical aspect toward ensuring that medical marijuana is available for certified patients with serious conditions, and that it is dispensed and administered in a manner that ensures public health and safety," he said.
According to the DOH, the course includes information about the pharmacology of marijuana, contraindications, adverse reactions, drug interactions, dosing, routes of administration, risks and benefits as well as abuse and dependence. Practitioners will pay $249 to take the course, and those who successfully complete it will earn 4.5 hours of continuing medical education (CME) credit. They'll also be eligible to register online after providing other required documentation.
Physicians must also be qualified to treat patients with one of more of the conditions the DOH has designated to be applicable for medical marijuana treatment, including cancer, HIV/AIDS and neuropathy and Huntington's disease. The patient also must have such symptoms as severe or chronic pain, nausea, seizures or wasting syndrome.
Physicians in Western New York and across the state have been asking for months for additional information so they can be prepared when the program begins in January. Dr. Laszlo Mechtler, medical director of Dent Neurologic Institute and Roswell Park Cancer Institute's chief of neuro-oncology, told Business First the online course will help expedite training.
"This way, physicians have the flexibility to take it after-hours," he said.
Still unknown, he said, is whether the training will give physicians the information they need to determine which marijuana strains and products will be best to treat each condition specified by the DOH. Mechtler also questioned whether the products will actually be ready to distribute by January, but the law prohibits licensees from bringing in marijuana from outside the state.
"Even though you may have physicians ready by January 2016, I'm not sure the harvesting will be ready," he said. "The other problem is it's still a federally illegal drug, so you can't cross state lines and you can't mail it. I think there will be issues, especially early in 2016."
Several of the companies licensed by New York to grow and distribute medical marijuana have also said they plan to provide educational materials for both physicians and patients themselves, similar to how pharmaceutical companies educate their customers. Two dispensaries are planned for Erie County.
The state awarded licenses through its Compassionate Care Act to five companies this summer to build facilities, grow medical marijuana and have distribution systems set up and ready to go by January 2016.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Online Physician's Training Established To Aid Doctors With MMJ Aspirations
Author: Tracey Drury
Contact: Feedback Page
Photo Credit: Mike Groll
Website: Biz Journals
