Page 14 - April 2017 Newspaper

Dear Readers:

South Florida Hospital News & Healthcare Report welcomes you to CannabisNewsFlorida.com, a feature of our print
publication, website, and e-newsletters. Its purpose is to provide pertinent educational information from leading authorities
about medical and business developments in the medical cannabis industry. We also intend to provide both national
and international information which will affect the medical cannabis business in the State of Florida.

MyFloridaGreen.com Merges Telemedicine and Virtual Technology

to Assist Patients Seeking Medical Cannabis Recommendations

BY CAROL NEWMAN solid system,” he explained.
Despite the fact that this could provide
One of the problems facing the majority of patients that qualify for a medical a streamlined way for patients and doc-
cannabis recommendation is that many of them have debilitating conditions that tors to communicate, a proposed ban on
often hinder or limit mobility and preclude them from driving—which makes it very telemedicine being used to prescribe
difficult to get in to see a physician. medical cannabis by caregivers in the
To this end, www.myfloridagreen.com was created to remove the hurdles that these state of Florida could derail the process.
patients face. A virtual online clinic platform designed by industry experts and med- “If passed, the ban would have a detri-
ical leaders, the app handles patient aggregation, vetting and qualification, and the mental and negative impact on many
establishment of a doctor/patient relationship. non-ambulatory patients that could not
“Through the use of telemedicine and virtual technology, a patient can even have obtain a recommendation via a traditional
an actual face-to-face consultation with a medical provider while remaining in the office visit,” explained Garulay, adding
comfort of his or her own home,” explained myfloridagreen.com creator Nick that the legislative language in the ban
Garulay. echoes the current telemedicine law that
The HIPAA-compliant platform streamlines patient flow for physicians and more prohibits a controlled substance to be pre-
importantly, assists sick patients with debilitative and terminal illnesses. Already, scribed through telemedicine unless it is
www. myfloridagreen.com has more than 3,500 patients registered with the applica- done by a psychiatrist.
tion since the passing of Amendment 2, the Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization “It is my ultimate goal to create a virtual
Initiative, on November 8. process that facilitates and adheres to all
As laws get implemented and doctors and patients start to navigate this emerging of the legal requirements—from the ini-
process, there are going to be large volumes of data that need to be inputted, archived, tial consultation to the final dispensing of Nick Garulay
queried and protected, and Garulay and his team are already in the process of creating the medication for the qualifying patients in need,” he added. “By partnering with the
software to handle the patient data currently required by the state registry, the College state, together we can manage this immense undertaking in a way that meets the
of Pharmacy registry, and the medical cannabis card registration that was recently statutory requirements, as well as creates a unique way to help patients when a tradi-
added to the regulations. tional office visit is not an option.”
“These legislatively mandated reportable data sets, combined with the existing
functionality of the current platform, will allow the medical cannabis recommenda- To learn more, visit www.myfloridagreen.com
tion process to be applied for, monitored, regulated, tracked, and enforced on one

A HIGHER LEVEL OF CARE

As healthcare providers, we strive to continually improve homeostatic abilities. His presentation offered a foundation for opti-
upon our patient’s ability to live an involved and active life. mizing the therapeutic effects cannabis medicine offers often difficult
With the advent of medical marijuana legislation in Florida, to treat conditions. Dr. Gregory Smith, author and medical marijuana
physicians now have the opportunity to help facilitate a better advocate, discussed current research suggesting microdoses of
quality of life for those living with difficult to treat and chronic cannabinoids may act as a preventive measure in neurodegenerative
diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, Cancer diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Dr. Gregory Gerdeman, neuro-
and other chronic conditions requiring specialized care and a scientist and medical marijuana advocate has earned multiple awards
regimen of multiple medications. I live in Florida half the year, of excellence for his research on medical cannabis including the phys-
so while in Massachusetts, I work as a nurse practitioner with iological adaptation to pain and the synergistic effects of opioids and
medical marijuana patients who benefit greatly using this alter- cannabis. Many patients being treated for chronic pain fear opioid
native and safe solution. Unfortunately, patient care is limited addiction and overdose, while patients using cannabis report a
by the lack of education and provider understanding of legal decreased need or discontinuation of opioid use with few side effects
issues. and better quality sleep.
More than 200 people attended the second annual South It is through educational symposiums like this that we expand our
Florida Physician’s Medical Marijuana Symposium to learn BY DALE BUCKMAN scope of treatment alternatives and access to care for those who need
more about helping patients who qualify for this holistic treat- us most. Many patients have been through the conventional treat-
ment. The symposium was presented by Canna Holdings and is ments with little to no improvement while antidotal evidence strongly
a labor of love for those involved in educating professionals with the hopes of supports the use of medical marijuana in helping to ease symptoms and improve
expanding access to care for the hundreds of thousands of patients waiting for this quality of life for a variety of conditions. Florida’s patients are fortunate that
opportunity. While Florida legislation is still deciding on the best way to imple- Canna Holdings has committed to bringing quality education to the leaders in the
ment Amendment 2, doctors need to be educated on how to use this evolving medical field.
treatment.
Coming from a state that has a medical marijuana program in place and as a Dale Buckman resides in Boca Raton, FL half the year and works as a board certified
professional who works with patients and physicians, I was very pleased with the ARNP in Massachusetts within the medical cannabis community. Having trained under
program presented on March 11th. Dr. Dustin Sulak, a leading expert in the field Dr. Sulak, she is committed to patient advocacy and educating providers.
of cannabinoid medicine gave a compelling presentation to help us understand She is currently working on a doctorate in nursing practice.
the endogenous cannabinoid system and how we can help patients improve its

14 April 2017 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News