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For patients around the country using marijuana as a treatment modality for medical problems, Telehealth is one of the most pivotal factors in that care. In addition to removing physical barriers that stand between patients and access to medical marijuana (distance, rural locations, very few clinics, etc.), I believe that Telehealth medicine also allows patients to take advantage of life-changing medical marijuana support without the stigma associated with walking into a physical marijuana clinic, or driving to sometimes seedy area of town to find a doctor to perform a cannabis evaluation. Unfortunately, Telehealth care isn't easy for patients to access in all parts of the country, and it's consumers who are paying the price.
What Is Telehealth?
Telehealth is a broad term that encompasses a large selection of services and technologies. Through means such as online meeting platforms and other virtual health tactics, Telehealth delivers health, medical and educational services to consumers around the country. In addition to use by medical marijuana providers like myself, Telehealth medicine is also used in counseling, home health, chronic disease management and even dentistry.
Telehealth is a hot topic in many states right now. As of the end of 2015, all but eight states proposed bills related to Telehealth access and medicine. Every state except Rhode Island currently offers some form of Medicaid coverage for telemedicine. Additionally, the majority of states reimburse patients for live video visits, nine states (including California, Alaska, and Arizona) reimburse patients for forward services, and 17 reimburse patients for remote monitoring services. Thirty-two states (and the District of Columbia) require telehealth services to be paid by insurance companies on the same level as in-person visits.
The Growth of Telehealth
While I'm happy to report that telehealth services are on the rise, only one percent of the U.S. population currently has access to a telehealth provider due to low doctor registration numbers and limited cannabis telehealth laws across the country. Some telehealth companies are reporting annual revenues of upwards of $77 million in 2015, which indicates a 77 percent increase from 2014. Telehealth companies often work with employers, health care providers and health plans to provide quality care to consumers everywhere.
Cannabis Laws and Telehealth Conflicts
Although access to medical marijuana is one of the most direct purposes of telehealth medicine, it's still hotly disputed around the country. While 23 states, as well as the District of Columbia, currently have laws that make cannabis legal in some form, every state except for California and Nevada now disallow telehealth access to medical marijuana. In California, the telehealth laws support patient access to medical marijuana as long as the "Standard of Care" is maintained. The Standard of Care means that medical marijuana providers must use prudence and caution when consulting with, and prescribing treatment for, their patients.
How Telehealth can Improve Access to Medical Marijuana
In addition to the fact that telehealth makes accessing medical marijuana easier for patients who live in rural or remote locations, telehealth medicine also removes many of the less obvious barriers to care, such as access to evaluations and the availability of certified doctors.
As it stands now, many patients are unable to obtain evaluations easily in their hometowns or states or have a difficult time accessing certified doctors. In addition to there being a shortage of certified doctors across the country, many traditional doctors are reflexively dismissive of marijuana because they did not study cannabis therapy in med school and have had no real exposure to it since then. Finally, some very ill patients also worry that informing their doctors about their desire to try medical marijuana as a treatment modality will result in losing access to potentially life-saving medical trials.
While the medical benefits of medical marijuana are widespread and well-studied, many states haven't warmed up to the idea of using cannabis as a standard treatment modality. Because of this, it's my belief that telehealth medicine is one of the most direct and efficient ways for needy patients to access quality medical marijuana providers without all of the red tape.
The Case for Telehealth Medicine
Telehealth is an important innovation that has the potential to bring quality healthcare to underserved populations. All around the country, the conversation about telehealth is becoming a hot-button topic and lawmakers and consumers alike are beginning to realize how crucial this new care modality is. Despite the fact that cannabis telehealth laws are still restricted in many states, the telehealth industry is growing year-over-year, and patients in places that offer telehealth access are benefiting.
While very few states allow telehealth access to medical marijuana, the states that do are serving their residents better than many other places in the country. Telehealth care is an efficient way for patients to access the benefits of medical cannabis without the stigma, difficulty, danger, or stress of finding an in-person provider.
Unfortunately, many citizens still don't currently have access to telehealth medical marijuana care. In light of this, I propose that lawmakers work to bring cannabis laws and telehealth laws into alignment, as they have done in California. While the concept of telehealth cannabis care is new for many states, medical marijuana providers can serve their patients effectively, efficiently and safely so long as the Standard of Care is maintained. When other states across the nation begin to realize the importance of eliminating the conflict between telehealth and cannabis laws, I believe that patient access to quality care will improve by leaps and bounds.
