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Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

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Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#21

Post by mikereedell »

Crito wrote: post #8
bunkydoo wrote: post #7

Well, here's the thing. I'm not actually sure doctors will be out of the mix with legalization on the horizon. Because to expand the cannabis market and poach alcohol sales - you could have doctors vouch for cannabis & cannabis-infused products as remedies for common ailments (when is the last time a doctor did this for a brand of vodka?)Think Mary-Kay - but for doctors who endorse weed. This market is going to be a…

Actual legalization would kill this industry. In Washington and Colorado (states which have actually legalized, not merely implemented a medical system or decriminalized) there is no need to see a doctor first. You just walk into the store, show a photo id to establish your age, and hand over cash. Also: "During Prohibition, Your Doctor Could Write You a Prescription for Booze" http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/d…

In CO, buying MMJ still requires a medical card. If you go to a medical/recreational dispensary without a medical card you can only purchase recreational MJ, which tends to be sativas or hybrids while medical tends to be indicas and indica hybrids.

There are also different tax and quantity rules around MMJ in Colorado. Medical card holders pay 2% (I think) tax while recreational pay over 20% tax. Medical card holders can also purchase 2oz at a time while recreational users can only buy an ounce at a time. Medical card holders can also grow twice the amount at home than non-card holders.

Until there's no differentiation between medical and recreational MJ, there will still be a need for doctors who are willing to fill out the paperwork for medical cards.

Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#22

Post by bmelton »

rosser wrote: post #9
Crito wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actual legalization would kill this industry. In Washington and Colorado (states which have actually legalized, not merely implemented a medical system or decriminalized) there is no need to see a doctor first. You just walk into the store, show a photo id to establish your age, and hand over cash. Also: "During Prohibition, Your Doctor Could Write You a Prescription for Booze" http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/d…

It's my understanding that under the WA system, some things still require a doctor's recommendation. EDIT: A recommendation increases the amount of marijuana or marijuana-based product one can legally possess (strictly speaking, it offers an affirmative defense for people possessing more than the amount authorized by I-502). Source: http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Marijuana/MedicalMari...

Unless of course, the feds get involved, and completely disregard the state law and any related affirmative defenses.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/06/harvey-family-marij...

Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#23

Post by anigbrowl »

bunkydoo wrote: post #7

Well, here's the thing. I'm not actually sure doctors will be out of the mix with legalization on the horizon. Because to expand the cannabis market and poach alcohol sales - you could have doctors vouch for cannabis & cannabis-infused products as remedies for common ailments (when is the last time a doctor did this for a brand of vodka?)Think Mary-Kay - but for doctors who endorse weed. This market is going to be a…

I don't think the weed industry wants to go down the 'more doctors smoke camels' route.

http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_main/images.php?token2=f...

Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#24

Post by ceejayoz »

Crito wrote: post #20
ceejayoz wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No GP is making $1k/hour.

Swap in any number that you think is reasonable. The reasoning and conclusion is the same.

You said it'd have to change by a factor of 10, but your estimation of a GP's salary is off by at least a factor of 10 - $100/hour would be a much more reasonable estimate. A bit high, even. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291062.htm

Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#25

Post by click170 »

001sky wrote: post #14
click170 wrote: post #11

This is maybe a little bit off topic, but I am glad to see that Doctors on Demand would be doing general medical house calls in the US. This seems like a good idea, I hope it spreads. I don't live in the US myself, but I've always wondered why doctors doing house calls was a UK thing but wasn't a North American thing, even in Canada. Are there real obstacles preventing doctors from making house calls in the US, or is…

Lets say a doctor charges $1,000/hour and each trip takes 20 minutes, plus 10 mintues to egress a building and parking garage/pick up a taxi. The overhead for a single visit is...$1,000 give or take... You can adjust the numbers around a bit but the point remains the same unless you radically change the transit time and the wage by a factor of 10.

Couldn't the price of a house call just be increased to account for this?

Or rather, a health care system where visiting a doctor is free, but house calls are only included in the health care plan if your have a disability that restricts your movement, allowing you to pay for house calls out of pocket if you chose to.

Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#26

Post by TTPrograms »

ceejayoz wrote: post #24
Crito wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Swap in any number that you think is reasonable. The reasoning and conclusion is the same.

You said it'd have to change by a factor of 10, but your estimation of a GP's salary is off by at least a factor of 10 - $100/hour would be a much more reasonable estimate. A bit high, even. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291062.htm

It still halves the efficiency of a critical, expensive workforce that is already in high demand.

The number doesn't matter - it's still suggesting that it's feasible for doctors to be half as productive as their potential. That seems absurd to me.

Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#27

Post by code_duck »

mikereedell wrote: post #21
Crito wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actual legalization would kill this industry. In Washington and Colorado (states which have actually legalized, not merely implemented a medical system or decriminalized) there is no need to see a doctor first. You just walk into the store, show a photo id to establish your age, and hand over cash. Also: "During Prohibition, Your Doctor Could Write You a Prescription for Booze" http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/d…

In CO, buying MMJ still requires a medical card. If you go to a medical/recreational dispensary without a medical card you can only purchase recreational MJ, which tends to be sativas or hybrids while medical tends to be indicas and indica hybrids. There are also different tax and quantity rules around MMJ in Colorado. Medical card holders pay 2% (I think) tax while recreational pay over 20% tax. Medical card holders…

Stores and the law are set up as if there is a real distinction between recreational and medical cannabis. It's sort of silly because it is all the same strains, grown by the same people who are growing it for the black market 10 years ago, or still may be. There are some legitimate true medical strains, like the ones high in CBD or CBN. As far as your standard cannabis though, the goals of people growing your average medical cannabis are exactly the same as the recreational… Make it as potent (high THC by weight) and flavorful as possible. At this point stores use the quality and price difference to try to encourage you to sign up through their clinic service, which they make money from. Medical in CO is about like a club you buy into.

Here in Colorado, the best thing to do is to still just go to my friends house, where I can get an ounce as good or better as the highest quality medical available, for 50 or $100 less with no government involved - just like 10 years ago but cheaper and higher quality.

Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#28

Post by ceejayoz »

TTPrograms wrote: post #26
ceejayoz wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You said it'd have to change by a factor of 10, but your estimation of a GP's salary is off by at least a factor of 10 - $100/hour would be a much more reasonable estimate. A bit high, even. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291062.htm

It still halves the efficiency of a critical, expensive workforce that is already in high demand. The number doesn't matter - it's still suggesting that it's feasible for doctors to be half as productive as their potential. That seems absurd to me.

This makes the assumption that home visits are the same level of productivity as office visits. For the elderly, infirm, those who work during normal doctors' office hours, etc., home visits might reach a population that isn't getting good care currently.

Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#29

Post by userium »

_delirium wrote: post #17
click170 wrote: post #11

This is maybe a little bit off topic, but I am glad to see that Doctors on Demand would be doing general medical house calls in the US. This seems like a good idea, I hope it spreads. I don't live in the US myself, but I've always wondered why doctors doing house calls was a UK thing but wasn't a North American thing, even in Canada. Are there real obstacles preventing doctors from making house calls in the US, or is…

I've never heard of house calls in Scandinavia either, unless it's strictly necessary (immobile elderly patient, etc.). It takes more of the doctor's time, therefore is more expensive, and generally we don't want medical care to get more expensive when it's possible to avoid it. For example a typical GP in Denmark sees 6 patients per hour, which seems difficult to do with house visits unless the patients live in the…

In Finland, at least in Helsinki, they have a "home hospital" system (http://www.hel.fi/www/Helsinki/en/socia-health/health/hospit...) for "patients who do not need the services of emergency units or specialist care". In case the patient is "healthy" enough to go home and has somebody to look after him there, they arrange for a nurse to visit e.g. even four times per day, to give meds, provide IV, and even take blood tests. Also sometimes a doctor visits the patient, though not as often as the nurses. Staying at the hospital is very expensive (for the country), so I have heard that the outpatient care ends up being cheaper.

Re: Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

#30

Post by ojbyrne »

rosser wrote: post #9
Crito wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actual legalization would kill this industry. In Washington and Colorado (states which have actually legalized, not merely implemented a medical system or decriminalized) there is no need to see a doctor first. You just walk into the store, show a photo id to establish your age, and hand over cash. Also: "During Prohibition, Your Doctor Could Write You a Prescription for Booze" http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/d…

It's my understanding that under the WA system, some things still require a doctor's recommendation. EDIT: A recommendation increases the amount of marijuana or marijuana-based product one can legally possess (strictly speaking, it offers an affirmative defense for people possessing more than the amount authorized by I-502). Source: http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Marijuana/MedicalMari...

I think one of the remaining advantages of medical marijuana in WA and CO is that it is significantly cheaper than recreational, because no tax is applied.
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