Can you imagine purchasing a prescription medication at your local pharmacy and then using it haphazardly? That’s not the norm because we are used to prescriptions coming with explicit instructions. But no such instructions come with medical cannabis. That is why follow-ups and patient monitoring are so important.
Medical cannabis patients in many states are left to navigate things on their own. They can always ask for advice from medical providers and pharmacists, but how many actually do? I do not know the answer to that question. But I do know that regularly following up with a medical provider or pharmacist who knows how to monitor patients is a smart idea.
3 Keys to Following Up and Monitoring
Following up with and monitoring medical cannabis patients is about two big things: ensuring patient safety and maximizing medical cannabis efficacy. Fall on either, and the consequences could be significant.
From the medical professional’s perspective, there are three keys to following up with and monitoring patients:
- Regular Evaluations – Medical professionals should encourage patients to engage with them in regular evaluations. The evaluation helps a doctor or pharmacist assess how well cannabis is managing the patient’s symptoms and whether adjustments need to be made.
- Adherence Monitoring – Only a couple of states require doctors or pharmacists to provide clear instructions to their patients. In the rest of the states, they can voluntarily offer recommendations. Regardless, adherence monitoring informs medical professionals of how closely a patient is adhering to instructions or recommendations.
- Tracking Outcomes – Patients are usually asked by their medical providers or pharmacists to track both consumption and outcome. Patients bring tracking records with them when they visit. In this way, the medical professional has hard data for making a competent medical assessment.
Doctors and pharmacists who continue to resist medical cannabis cite a lack of structured follow-ups and monitoring as a reason to not get on board. They have a legitimate concern. Effective follow-up and patient monitoring require voluntary collaboration among doctors, pharmacists, and patients. If just one of them does not participate, everything falls apart.
From the Patient’s Perspective
Following up and monitoring helps medical providers ensure their patients are getting the most from their medicines. But what is the patient’s perspective?
Beehive Farmacy is a Utah medical cannabis pharmacy with locations in Brigham City and Salt Lake City. They say it is common for their agents to recommend that patients track their consumption and outcomes. Patients do not always respond positively.
I don’t know why, but I suspect some might think the tracking is a way for the government to keep tabs on them. They do not trust official government recommendations to track medical cannabis usage.
There might be other patients who don’t participate in follow-ups or monitoring because they do not want to put forth the effort. Unless they are compelled by law to do so, they would rather be left alone for the most part. Either way, a lack of patient participation creates an unfortunate situation.
It’s for the Patient’s Good
Follow-ups and monitoring are not implemented for a medical provider’s benefit. It is all for the patient’s good. Medical cannabis is not like other prescription medicines in the sense that it isn’t administered as precisely or under such a tightly controlled structure. Therefore, patients really need as much help as they can get from medical professionals.
If you are a medical cannabis patient, do not resist a doctor or pharmacist’s efforts to follow up with you and monitor your progress. The medical professionals in your life are just looking out for your best interests.