There is good news regarding Qualified Medical Providers (QMPs) found in the Utah Medical Cannabis Program’s November 2021 update. According to the update, the state is changing how information on QMPs is gathered for the purposes of publishing provider information on the state website. If you are QMP, it is important that you get further information on this update.
To date, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) has gathered QMP contact information and added it to the website manually. If you were to check the old list yourself, you would notice that many of the entries are incomplete, only including the provider’s name with no address or contact info. But the state recently switched to an automated system.
The new system automatically runs a report across the entire EVS. That report is set to be run monthly at this point. It will gather QMP information directly from EVS applications and then publish the information as a provider list on the state website. It should prove to do a better job of maintaining an up-to-date list that patients can rely on.
If you would like to guarantee that your name and contact information appears on the state’s online list of QMPs, you should log into the EVS. Then go to ‘Tracking Inbox’ and click on ‘QMP’. Once you see your name, click on it. Your EVS application will appear. In that application will be a section labeled ‘UDOH Authorization to Publish’. You will find it on the lower right side of the application.
Update your information and click the ‘Save’ button to save the changes. Finally, tick the box that authorizes the UDOH to publish your information online. If anything changes, you can log back on and update your information. Also note that the system currently allows for only a single location. Providers with multiple locations will have to choose one or enter ‘multiple locations’ in the appropriate box.
We are happy to hear that the state website is being updated with a new report that will be run automatically. At the very least, the new system will increase the chances that the state’s QMP list will stay up to date. That will be good for patients for obvious reasons. As tough as it can be for some patients to find QMPs nearby, the last thing they need is outdated information. This new system should help.
You can help patients by making sure your information is accurate. It might be a good idea for you to log on to the EVS every few months just to ensure that nothing has glitched with your contact information. Things happen. Being proactive is the best way to stay ahead of potential problems.
In closing this post, we want to acknowledge that updating the way the state collects QMP contact information isn’t earth shattering. It is more like a baby step. But that’s how this works. It takes a lot of baby steps to translate into kid steps, then teen steps, and finally adult steps. The UDOH is working hard to implement and maintain a Medical Cannabis program in keeping with legislation passed by lawmakers. They don’t always get it right, but they are doing the best they can.
In the meantime, make sure that you are contact information is up to date. And if you are not yet a QMP, you can begin the process of becoming one by visiting the state’s Medical Cannabis website and following the ‘Provider’ link. Everything you need to know to get the process moving is found there.
