TELEMEDICINE AND MEDICAL CANNABIS

You can get your medical card without leaving your home. Normally this would not be the case. Michigan state law required face-to-face encounter to occur as part of doctor-patient relationship. However, due to current health crisis, the face to face requirement has been suspended.

“Can I get my card today?”    Yes (electronic registration and not physical card).
“Can I do this from home?”    At the current time, yes.
“Are all doctors participating?”  Unfortunately, most are not “cannabis friendly”.
“Is the $100 fee, standard?”  The $40 state fee is fixed. The physician fee is variable.

I’m currently offering a physician fee of $100 as an online introductory offer.  $140 total cost: online experience, relatively straightforward, and quick (minutes not days). What are you waiting for?

Step 1)   Go to State of Michigan website (www.michigan.gov/mmp) to start the process and pay $40.  You will need physician license number in this process.  If you are using Dr. Scott Jay as doctor use physician license number: 4301501404.

Step 2)   Once your online application is submitted, I will receive an email from the state to confirm my medical qualification (MD, status active). The email from the state has no patient information.  Once I log into the website, I will see the request and a link that shows me the patient name and birth date but nothing else.  The application can stay in this state for 15 days.  After 15 days if no further actions are performed the application dies and the $40 is lost.

Step 3)   Send me a message with your contact information and we can set up a time for an appointment. Although I prefer direct patient contact (and will still do so on patient request), video conferencing is the easiest option. Some communication platforms are device specific: 

Apple= FaceTime; Android = Google Duo; and Gmail = google video chat. 

I have an iPhone (phone # 423-430-2690, personal device), a Google Chromebook android device (appears to use same phone #), and a Gmail account (scottjay.doctor@gmail.com).  I prefer to use the Gmail method.

 Step 4)   My current introductory rate is $100 to provide the medical certification.  For electronic interactions, I have established a Venmo account to facilitate online payment: Venmo

Step 5)   Confirm your qualifying diagnosis during your appointment. I do not need to see supporting medical documents, but I must have legitimate box to check. The following are the limited list:

1)        Cancer,
2)        Glaucoma,
3)        HIV positive,
4)        AIDS,
5)        Hepatitis C,
6)        ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis),
7)        Crohn’s disease,
8)        Alzheimer’s with agitation,
9)        Nail Patella (have never encountered in my medical career),
10)    Cachexia or wasting syndrome,
11)    Severe and chronic pain,
12)    Severe Nausea,
13)    Seizures,
14)    Severe and persistent muscle spasms,
15)    PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder),
16)    OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder),
17)    Arthritis,
18)    Rheumatoid arthritis,
19)    Spinal cord injury,
20)    Colitis,
21)    Inflammatory Bowel disease
22)    Ulcerative Colitis,
23)    Parkinson’s disease,
24)    Tourette’s syndrome,
25)    Autism,
26)    Chronic pain,
27)    Cerebral palsy.

That is it.  No depression, no anxiety (not that cannabis won’t help, just not an approved indication). One of those boxes needs to be checked, and if you don’t qualify don’t bother.

Step 6)   Once I go online, check the medical box and confirm, you will receive an email confirmation from the state (usually less than 5 minutes) that will contain your registry number in the following format: CERT-20-xxxxx (xxxxx being 5 digits unique to you). Until your formal card arrives in the mail (one to two weeks) this registry number will still give you “medical” access and 10% tax savings.

Step 7)   Some provisioning centers have been licensed for home delivery. They can be contacted, transaction completed, and medical cannabis delivered to your door with no high risk contact and appropriate social distancing behavior.

Notes:

I still believe a face-to face encounter is needed for a legitimate medical encounter, and will be happy to schedule this “hands on” appointment once the travel restrictions are lifted at no additional fee.

I would assume other doctors can provide this service as well, but of course the information (highlighted in bold above) would be different.