Changes to the Patient and Caregiver Process
Telemedicine
As a reminder, the State Medical Board of Ohio voted to suspend enforcement of telemedicine regulations for licensees during the COVID-19 pandemic. This allows physicians with a CTR to use telemedicine in place of in-person visits to make recommendations and renewals for medical marijuana.
Physicians must document their use of telemedicine and meet minimal standards of care. The Medical Board will provide advance notice before resuming enforcement of the above regulation when the state emergency orders are lifted.
Click here to view the current state and federal Telemedicine Guidance.
Temporary Expansion of Caregiver Registration
CTR physicians are also encouraged to add caregivers for their medical marijuana patients, as many patients may be at higher risk for illness and should not be visiting dispensaries to purchase their medical marijuana.
In order to expedite the caregiver registration process and reduce exposure to higher risk patients during the COVID-19 outbreak, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy issued guidance for caregiver registration that authorizes a patient to have up to three caregivers. Additionally, the guidance permits caregivers to be added by submitting an application directly to the Board of Pharmacy. This guidance, along with the Board of Pharmacy's new Caregiver Registration Application, can be accessed here.