Medical Cannabis Information for Health Care Practitioners

Information Resources for Health Care Practitioners

Review Articles and Reports

Online Continuing Medical Education (CME) Opportunities

• TheAnswerPage
  TheAnswerPage is offering 4.0 CME/CE credits in medical marijuana and risk management at a reduced subscription fee.
• The Medical Cannabis Institute
  The Medical Cannabis Institute is the nation's leading online provider of ACCME and ANCC-certified medical education for the clinical application of medical cannabis. Our science-based courses help healthcare professionals deliver quality care and address patient questions. Use the customized link above to view our curricula and course offerings to earn CME credits at a reduced price.
• Cannabis Expertise
  Cannabis Expertise offers live on-site medical cannabis program and live webinar sessions - offering participants the opportunity to ask questions of the faculty - for CME, ANCC, ACPE, and APRN pharmacotherapy credit at a reduced rate for Minnesota residents.

Registration and Certification Information

• Certifying patients for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in the MN Medical Cannabis Program (PDF)
  Presents information on certifying patients for obstructive sleep apnea, including references to OSA diagnostic and management guidelines and treatment modalities.
  

• Intractable Pain Certification in the MN Medical Cannabis Program: A Primer for Health Care Practitioners (PDF)
  Presents detail on certifying patients for intractable pain and information resources on pain management and the potential for cannabis therapy as part of pain management.
  
  
• Health Care Practitioners for Medical Cannabis
  Three types of practitioners: doctors, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurse can certify that patients have a qualifying condition for medical cannabis. MDH will not maintain or publish a list of practitioners who are certifying these conditions.
  
  
• Serious health effect reporting
  
  
• Patient Information (PDF)
  Important information and warnings about using medical cannabis.

• Create Account
  Enroll in the Medical Cannabis Registry. You will need:
  • General information: name, address, email and phone.
  • Your medical license.
  • Your DEA license.
  • General information about the clinic(s) where you practice.

• Log in to Certify a Patient
  Once you have created your account, you can log in to the registry and certify a patient.
  
  
• Patient Annual Recertification and Enrollment
  Patients that are enrolled in the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program must have their qualifying condition recertified by a Minnesota licensed physician, physician assistant (PA) or an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) on an annual basis per MN Stat. 152.27 Subd. 3 (b). Key points for healthcare practitioners to be aware of include:
  • A patient currently enrolled in the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program does not have to have the current healthcare practitioner recertify them, they are allowed to have another healthcare practitioner registered in the program certify their condition.
  • Registered healthcare practitioners can recertify currently active patients in the program up to 90 days before the patient’s enrollment in the program expires.  If the healthcare practitioner is attempting to certify an active patient that was originally certified by another registered healthcare practitioner, they will need to search for the patient via the patient lookup on the healthcare practitioners main page in the registry.

• Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program: Health Care Practitioner Navigator 1: Your Role & Responsibilities (PDF)
  Overview of the role of the health care practitioner.


• Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program: Health Care Practitioner Navigator 2: Register Yourself and Certify Patients (PDF)
  Overview of how to register yourself and certify patients.
  
  
• A Review of Medical Cannabis Studies relating to Chemical Compositions and Dosages for Qualifying Medical Conditions (PDF)
  A summary of clinical trials and prospective observational studies in humans, published in peer-reviewed journals, which focus on medical cannabis formulations consistent with Minnesota’s medical cannabis program. This report is updated annually.
  
  
• Health Care Practitioner Guidance for Minnesota’s Medical Cannabis Program (PDF) The Health Care Practitioner Guidance for Minnesota’s Medical Cannabis Program document is an optional item, and is intended to be a helpful guide to clinics who are developing their policies, practices and workflows to participate in the MN Medical Cannabis Program.  The document  was created in partnership with the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) and focuses on ambulatory care. Note: this document, created in 2015, contains information and suggestions that continue to be a helpful resource for clinicians. However, changes in statutes and rules have made some information in the document outdated. ICSI will not be producing an updated version of this document, so we advise that you cross reference other sections of our website for the most current information.