The Department of Justice (DOJ) has certified California’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES). Therefore, effective October 2, 2018, it will become mandatory for all healthcare practitioners who prescribe to consult and review the CURES 2.0 system prior to prescribing, ordering, administering, or furnishing a Schedule II-IV controlled substance.

Recently, CAP held a roundtable discussion called “Pain Management in the Crosshairs” to anecdotally discuss their careers in pain management, from measuring pain across diverse populations, to safely prescribing in a culture of pill-popping, to insurance challenges and where the industry goes from here. 

Many physicians feel they are not well informed about the indications, risks, benefits, and side effects of medical cannabis. Considering the inconsistency with federal and state laws and the mixed messages between legislation and government action, it is easy to see why most physicians have opted to avoid the issue until the confusion clears.

In part 1 of our article for Healthcare Risk Management (HRM), we outlined the issues of informed consent and informed refusals and what steps to take to protect your practice. In part 2 of our article, CAP’s Risk Management and Patient Safety Department will list the strategies and safeguards to have in place when working with advanced healthcare professionals.

When reporting their findings, it is common to see consulting physicians recommend further testing. Absent such an explicit recommendation, a patient’s decision to bypass conservative measures can spell trouble for all.