BOZEMAN – Doctors who staff mass medical marijuana clinics could be disciplined by the Montana Board of Medical Examiners under a policy the board adopted last week.
Recommending a course of treatment after a brief consultation and without any follow-up does not meet the standard of care expected of Montana physicians, board members decided.
They approved by unanimous vote a position paper that will allow them to sanction doctors for providing substandard care to medical marijuana users.
That could include signing medical marijuana authorization forms at traveling clinics or over the Internet.
"The Board of Medical Examiners takes no position on the general suitability of marijuana in the treatment of medical disorders, but does have an obligation to protect the public by ensuring that physicians provide medical services via a bona-fide physician-patient relationship that meets the generally accepted standards of care," the paper states.
The Medical Marijuana Act permits doctors to certify that patients could be helped by marijuana, but it does not mean providers "can let all medical ethics and judgment go out the window," said Dr. Anna Earl, vice president of the board.
"It's our job to make sure good medicine is still taking place," Earl said during the board's meeting on Thursday.
Many Montana physicians, including members of the medical examiners board, are skeptical that a doctor at a mass clinic has the time to learn enough about a patient to justify authorizing medical marijuana use.
At large clinics in Billings and elsewhere, doctors have churned through as many as 400 people in a day.
The board's position paper lays out steps that doctors are expected to take before recommending any course of treatment and states plainly that it unlikely those steps can be taken at mass medical marijuana clinics.
"The Board cautions physicians that a mass screening format or group evaluations, whether for student athletes or those desiring medical marijuana, inherently tend towards inadequate standards of care," the paper states.
Under the voter-approved Montana Medical Marijuana Act, Montanans can apply to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services for a medical marijuana card if a doctor has signed a form authorizing them to do so.
The intent behind the 2004 initiative was to allow people with terminal illnesses or a handful of debilitating diseases to get permission from their doctors to use medical marijuana, said Tom Daubert, an advocate who led the charge to legalize medical marijuana in Montana.
But that is not what has happened.
"I feel somewhat that I owe you folks an apology," Daubert said during the medical board's public comment period. "Even those of us who helped write the law . agree with law enforcement and others that a lot of what we're seeing is not what was intended or envisioned."
Daubert said he was as concerned as board members were about mass clinics.
The identities of doctors staffing the clinics usually are kept secret, and often they are not Montana residents.
Still, they must have Montana licenses to sign authorizations, and that means the Board of Medical Examiners can sanction them.
Also on Thursday, board members discussed at length whether doctors who authorize patients to use marijuana should provide follow-up care.
"We wouldn't say, 'Here, take 400 grams of aspirin and come back in a year,' " said Dr. Arthur Fink.
But the Medical Marijuana Act states explicitly that marijuana cards are good for one year, leaving little room for physicians to require patients to come back for follow-up visits.
In the end, the board decided to ask the Legislature to change the law so that doctors can authorize marijuana use for periods of time that are less than one year. They will also ask lawmakers to allow doctors who have signed authoriza-tions to rescind them.
News Hawk: Warbux 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Billings Gazette
Author: Diane Cochran
Contact: The Billings Gazette - Montana & Wyoming News
Copyright: 2010 The Billings Gazette
Website: State board releases position on medical marijuana
Recommending a course of treatment after a brief consultation and without any follow-up does not meet the standard of care expected of Montana physicians, board members decided.
They approved by unanimous vote a position paper that will allow them to sanction doctors for providing substandard care to medical marijuana users.
That could include signing medical marijuana authorization forms at traveling clinics or over the Internet.
"The Board of Medical Examiners takes no position on the general suitability of marijuana in the treatment of medical disorders, but does have an obligation to protect the public by ensuring that physicians provide medical services via a bona-fide physician-patient relationship that meets the generally accepted standards of care," the paper states.
The Medical Marijuana Act permits doctors to certify that patients could be helped by marijuana, but it does not mean providers "can let all medical ethics and judgment go out the window," said Dr. Anna Earl, vice president of the board.
"It's our job to make sure good medicine is still taking place," Earl said during the board's meeting on Thursday.
Many Montana physicians, including members of the medical examiners board, are skeptical that a doctor at a mass clinic has the time to learn enough about a patient to justify authorizing medical marijuana use.
At large clinics in Billings and elsewhere, doctors have churned through as many as 400 people in a day.
The board's position paper lays out steps that doctors are expected to take before recommending any course of treatment and states plainly that it unlikely those steps can be taken at mass medical marijuana clinics.
"The Board cautions physicians that a mass screening format or group evaluations, whether for student athletes or those desiring medical marijuana, inherently tend towards inadequate standards of care," the paper states.
Under the voter-approved Montana Medical Marijuana Act, Montanans can apply to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services for a medical marijuana card if a doctor has signed a form authorizing them to do so.
The intent behind the 2004 initiative was to allow people with terminal illnesses or a handful of debilitating diseases to get permission from their doctors to use medical marijuana, said Tom Daubert, an advocate who led the charge to legalize medical marijuana in Montana.
But that is not what has happened.
"I feel somewhat that I owe you folks an apology," Daubert said during the medical board's public comment period. "Even those of us who helped write the law . agree with law enforcement and others that a lot of what we're seeing is not what was intended or envisioned."
Daubert said he was as concerned as board members were about mass clinics.
The identities of doctors staffing the clinics usually are kept secret, and often they are not Montana residents.
Still, they must have Montana licenses to sign authorizations, and that means the Board of Medical Examiners can sanction them.
Also on Thursday, board members discussed at length whether doctors who authorize patients to use marijuana should provide follow-up care.
"We wouldn't say, 'Here, take 400 grams of aspirin and come back in a year,' " said Dr. Arthur Fink.
But the Medical Marijuana Act states explicitly that marijuana cards are good for one year, leaving little room for physicians to require patients to come back for follow-up visits.
In the end, the board decided to ask the Legislature to change the law so that doctors can authorize marijuana use for periods of time that are less than one year. They will also ask lawmakers to allow doctors who have signed authoriza-tions to rescind them.
News Hawk: Warbux 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Billings Gazette
Author: Diane Cochran
Contact: The Billings Gazette - Montana & Wyoming News
Copyright: 2010 The Billings Gazette
Website: State board releases position on medical marijuana
