In the ideal world, patients think physicians are magicians. Once they pay a visit to the doctor and take the prescribed medication, conditions would improve. Our health care system expects physicians to know patients by a short period of time, but this is not possible with every patient, especially those who have chronic or severe conditions with long medical history or complications.
Patients who suffered from severe illness or illnesses who do not really have very effective treatment such as nausea, chronic pain, and epilepsy therefore start to look into alternative help such as medical marijuana.
As a matter of fact, a lot of patients are capable of taking care of their own medical issues. There are some tricks that healthcare professionals might not know that patients do know because they are the frontline fighters of that specific condition. Patients can help each other by sharing their knowledge of that illness and supporting those with similar conditions. Clinic staff can also provide more time and detailed information to patients such as cannabis strains education. It is actually very surprising to see how positive a marijuana clinic or dispensary can be.
Patients should be more proactive and take initiative in their treatment plan. It is only rational to do so since a majority of the patients are not financially able to hire a doctor who is available 24/7.
“Giving patients more control doesn’t mean handing over a blank prescription pad. Patients can gain more control — safely — if they understand a drug’s effects and duration, and if they have some leeway in when and how to use it. For instance, when I (David Casarett, MD) prescribe as-needed pain medication, I’ll give my patients permission to figure out for themselves how much to take and when. “
The health care system seems to lack this knowledge that the marijuana industry has already learned years ago.
To read the full article in The New York Times here…
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