Page 41 - SFHN0419finalSP.qxp_Page layout

Thinking About Adding Medical Marijuana Referral to Your Practice?

Every Florida physician who serves as ices). Accordingly, physi- into, and will enhance, his or her prac-
the primary care provider (“PCP”) for cians in general, and PCPs tice.
some or all of his or her patients should particularly, can minimize
consider whether to become a “Qualified the likelihood of patients
Ordering Physician” (“QOP”), with the looking elsewhere for a Mr. Siegel and Ms. Hibnick are Partners
ability to authorize Qualified Patients QOP, or asking the physi- in the Coral Gables office of Lubell/Rosen, a
(“QP”) to receive medical marijuana cian for a referral to a QOP, full-service law firm that focuses on serving
(“cannabis”). Physicians in a number of thereby losing some or all the legal needs of the
specialties (i.e., pain management and their business. Becoming a healthcare community.
oncology) are recognizing the value of QOP not only strengthens
cannabis for treating their QPs’ medical the “stickiness” of current Mr. Siegel has been recognized as Board
issues and are becoming QOPs. patients, it may likely Certified in Health Law by The Florida Bar.
The number of Floridians who are QPs attract additional patients He also is certified by the HCCB in
and using cannabis continues to grow BY STEPHEN H. SIEGEL, ESQ. AND whose PCPs have not Healthcare Compliance and Healthcare
exponentially. According to the Office of CYNTHIA BARNETT HIBNICK, ESQ. adopted this business Privacy Compliance. He is a member of
Medical Marijuana Use (“OMMU”), one model. Lubell |Rosen’s Health Law and
year ago, on March 16, 2018, there were For both clinical and CannabisLAW Groups. He can be reached
88,154 QPs. By March 15, 2019, that ing medical marijuana in Florida. Many economic reasons (as well as a minimal at 305.298.8640 or shs@lubellrosen.com.
number had more than doubled to of these conditions are treated by most capital investment), becoming a QOP is
194,997 QPs. During that same time PCPs; for example, cancer, glaucoma, an attractive option for many physicians. Ms. Hibnick chairs Lubell |Rosen’s
period, the number of QOPs grew from Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and Achieving this designation adds both CannabisLAW Group and also is a member
1,225 to 2,106, again nearly doubling the chronic nonmalignant pain. another treatment modality and a new of the firm’s Health Law Group. She can be
number of QOPs in just one year. Besides Patients no longer are passive revenue stream. Working with legal and reached at 305.671.7771 or
the obvious economic reasons to consid- observers of their medical conditions. other advisors, every Florida PCP should cbh@lubellrosen.com.
er becoming a QOP, there are compelling Many patients will decide to try medical evaluate whether becoming a QOP fits
clinical reasons to seriously consider marijuana. They will either seek a QOP
adding cannabis to your treatment rec- on their own or ask their PCPs for refer-
ommendations to your patients. rals. Either way, there is likely to be some
level of disruption in those patients’
Clinical Perspective plans of treatment. Possibly the best way
Along with “do no harm”, a funda- to avoid this disruption is for patients to
mental principle of any medical practice receive or have supervised all their med-
is to alleviate a patient’s pain and suffer- ical care by one physician--their PCP.

ing to the extent possible. It is entirely Economic Perspective
feasible that the debate about the efficacy
and safety of cannabis may never be Physician income from providing tra-
resolved definitively (although clinical ditional clinical services is flat, at best,
and epidemiological studies in Europe or, more likely, stagnating. Physicians in
do support reported improvement in general, and PCPs in particular, cannot
patients’ conditions, particularly with the render more services or increase their
elderly). See Epidemiological character- rates in order to cover the gap between
istics, safety and efficacy of medical reality and their expectations.
cannabis in the elderly, European Journal PCPs recognize patient retention is
of Internal Medicine, March 2918, critical to their financial success.
Volume 49, pp 44-50; https://www.ejin- Regardless of whether patient payments
me.com/article/S0953-6205(18)30019- are made by fee-for-service, capitated,
0/fulltext. Although there is a dearth of global fee, or some other basis, a loyal
clinical and epidemiological studies in and stable base of patients is necessary
the United States, due in part by the clas- for a physician to succeed in private
sification of cannabis as a Schedule I practice. In order to develop patients
drug, the anecdotal evidence suggests who look to their PCPs for guidance and
that, at a minimum, using cannabis can direction in making clinical decisions
alleviate a patient’s pain, epileptic (“sticky patients”), medical practices
episodes, nausea from chemotherapy, have adopted satisfaction surveys and
etc. Consequently, the number of other measures that recognize that
patients seeking this treatment, and the patients are not only medical care seek-
number of physicians who are permitted ers, but also customers and have the
to authorize it, are predicted to continue same expectations as customers in other
to increase greatly. industries.
The Florida Legislature recognized In order to develop and maintain
that cannabis has value in treating a wide “sticky patients”, physicians should offer
range of patients when it incorporated patients as many medical services as they
thirteen (13) “qualifying medical condi- require from one source (of course,
tions” into the statutory scheme regulat- assuming that source is appropriately
medically qualified to provide such serv-

www.CannabisNewsFlorida.com
Visit us on the web at www.CannabisNewsFlorida.com

Cannabis News Florida cannabisnewsflorida.com April 2019 41