I met with the doctor at the Ohio Medical Marijuana Card office last week. It was an interesting and informative appointment. Though I basically knew what to expect since my cousin had already gone for her appointment and wrote about it in her blog HERE, I was still a little surprised by the whole thing. Here's what happened:
My appointment was at noon and when I arrived I had to show my ID and check in. I asked the gentleman behind the desk if they had all my medical records and he assured me they did. I had actually called a few days before my appointment to make sure and I was told then that they had everything they needed so I didn't need to bring anything. Once I was checked in, I sat down and I waited. And waited. And then waited a little longer. There were three people ahead of me. I've waited for hours to see other doctors before so this really wasn't a big deal for me, other than being annoying because I did actually schedule an appointment. But whatever. I'd rather them take extra time with everyone that rush people through.
The waiting room was clean, and basically quiet. There was a nice bathroom available, which always helps every situation. About an hour and a half after my scheduled appointment time, I was called in by the doctor.
We went into a small exam room where I sat on a couch beside his desk. He looked over some of my records and asked me why I was there. As I started to explain my various medical issues, he looked at me and told me he had no records of any of it. He showed me the records he did have, in his actual paper file, and it was basically just the information from my last primary health care check up visit - nothing for the Crohn's, Fibromyalgia, chronic pain, diarrhea or any of the rest. I informed him that I had called and asked if they had my records and I was told they did. He said that the records he had was all there was and until I could get him more, he wouldn't be able to sign for me to get my card. I was totally okay with that, but that's was surprised me. He actually wanted to see proof. He wanted to know that I wasn't there just making up some story to get marijuana. I was aggravated as hell that they didn't have the records when I had specifically called to make sure, but I was glad he wasn't going to approve me without them.
We talked some more and he made several suggestions about what he thought could and couldn't help me. He said I had such a variety of issues it was hard to narrow down on just one or two key problems, but we managed. He gave me a bunch of information and told me that if I could get him more of my medical records he would be happy to look them over and make a decision about approving my card. Again, I was just so impressed he wasn't just signing cards and handing them out to anyone who walked in the door complaining of something and paying the fee. It wasn't like that at all. It was professional and legitimate.
I walked out and was greeted by the gentleman at the desk and I asked him how I could go about getting my medical records since what they had wasn't enough. He assured me that they did have all of my records and that there was so much that had come over from my GI he didn't print everything but it was all in the computer. He immediately called the doctor to come out and asked him to sit down and look through my records on the computer right then. The doctor did. He made it about four pages in before he looked at me and looked back at the records and looked at me again. You could tell he was thinking, 'Wow, she wasn't lying about all those things wrong with her.' He scanned through more pages and said again, I had a wide variety of issues but with the information he saw he could definitely approve me for my card and he signed my form. Once the dispensaries open I will legally be able to purchase medical marijuana in the State of Ohio.
There are lots of follow up appointments and you have to renew the card and be reevaluated every year, but I'm actually glad about that too. I'm glad they don't just approve you and leave you to it. Follow up is important and communication is vital. If something isn't working it's important that you talk to the doctor and they find a better way. I don't always feel like I have that with Dr. GI so we'll see if it's any better with this doctor and this type of treatment.
All in all, I'm really pleased with how this process works. I'm quite eager to see how helpful the people at the dispensaries will be. I'm also eager to begin a new form of treatment that will hopefully improve my quality of life. Stay tuned for updates along the way.
My appointment was at noon and when I arrived I had to show my ID and check in. I asked the gentleman behind the desk if they had all my medical records and he assured me they did. I had actually called a few days before my appointment to make sure and I was told then that they had everything they needed so I didn't need to bring anything. Once I was checked in, I sat down and I waited. And waited. And then waited a little longer. There were three people ahead of me. I've waited for hours to see other doctors before so this really wasn't a big deal for me, other than being annoying because I did actually schedule an appointment. But whatever. I'd rather them take extra time with everyone that rush people through.
The waiting room was clean, and basically quiet. There was a nice bathroom available, which always helps every situation. About an hour and a half after my scheduled appointment time, I was called in by the doctor.
We went into a small exam room where I sat on a couch beside his desk. He looked over some of my records and asked me why I was there. As I started to explain my various medical issues, he looked at me and told me he had no records of any of it. He showed me the records he did have, in his actual paper file, and it was basically just the information from my last primary health care check up visit - nothing for the Crohn's, Fibromyalgia, chronic pain, diarrhea or any of the rest. I informed him that I had called and asked if they had my records and I was told they did. He said that the records he had was all there was and until I could get him more, he wouldn't be able to sign for me to get my card. I was totally okay with that, but that's was surprised me. He actually wanted to see proof. He wanted to know that I wasn't there just making up some story to get marijuana. I was aggravated as hell that they didn't have the records when I had specifically called to make sure, but I was glad he wasn't going to approve me without them.
We talked some more and he made several suggestions about what he thought could and couldn't help me. He said I had such a variety of issues it was hard to narrow down on just one or two key problems, but we managed. He gave me a bunch of information and told me that if I could get him more of my medical records he would be happy to look them over and make a decision about approving my card. Again, I was just so impressed he wasn't just signing cards and handing them out to anyone who walked in the door complaining of something and paying the fee. It wasn't like that at all. It was professional and legitimate.
I walked out and was greeted by the gentleman at the desk and I asked him how I could go about getting my medical records since what they had wasn't enough. He assured me that they did have all of my records and that there was so much that had come over from my GI he didn't print everything but it was all in the computer. He immediately called the doctor to come out and asked him to sit down and look through my records on the computer right then. The doctor did. He made it about four pages in before he looked at me and looked back at the records and looked at me again. You could tell he was thinking, 'Wow, she wasn't lying about all those things wrong with her.' He scanned through more pages and said again, I had a wide variety of issues but with the information he saw he could definitely approve me for my card and he signed my form. Once the dispensaries open I will legally be able to purchase medical marijuana in the State of Ohio.
There are lots of follow up appointments and you have to renew the card and be reevaluated every year, but I'm actually glad about that too. I'm glad they don't just approve you and leave you to it. Follow up is important and communication is vital. If something isn't working it's important that you talk to the doctor and they find a better way. I don't always feel like I have that with Dr. GI so we'll see if it's any better with this doctor and this type of treatment.
All in all, I'm really pleased with how this process works. I'm quite eager to see how helpful the people at the dispensaries will be. I'm also eager to begin a new form of treatment that will hopefully improve my quality of life. Stay tuned for updates along the way.
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