Here you will find topics ranging from current events that affect public health in Arizona to overall information about the Arizona Department of Health Services
Two things happen when you turn 50. First, you start getting invitations to join the AARP in the mail every couple of weeks (until they give up). Second, your doctor tells you it’s time for your colonoscopy screening. That’s the one that puts a lump in your throat. At 51, I finally bit the bullet [...]
We've had a lot of traffic on our Medical Marijuana Registration webpage today - some of you may have had some difficulty uploading photos or had a "session expired" message pop up. Thanks to your help, we're working to resolve these bumps in the road. If you have had problems this morning, you may want [...]
Today was Opening Day for the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. We rolled out our brand-new website at 8 a.m. today and began processing applications for Qualifying Patient and Designated Caregiver Registry Identification Cards. The system went live at 8:00 a.m. and we completed our first qualified patient card at about 8:30. Our first applicant was a [...]
As you have probably already heard, Legislature has passed and the Governor has signed a series of budget bills. One thing I know everyone will be glad to hear is that the remaining scheduled mandatory furlough days for this fiscal year and next are canceled. However, individual agencies have the option of using furloughs if necessary (I [...]
Michael Allison has set up a Tribal Consultation meeting regarding Medical Marijuana to get input and advice from our tribal partners on the new medical marijuana law. There are a whole host of questions to consider, everything from whether any tribes intend to adopt the new law and whether they would ever be interested in [...]
Last week I wrote about how we and AHCCCS applied for a Health Homes Planning Grant from the US Dept. of Health & Human Services to improve the health status of folks with serious mental illnesses by improving case management, care coordination, health promotion, transitional care, individual and family support, referral to necessary services, and the [...]
Laura Nelson, M.D.. Chief Medical Officer, Arizona Department of Health Services Will Humble, Director, Arizona Department of Health ServicesThank you for your interest in the effective implementation of the AZ Medical Marijuana Act. We realize that many Arizona physicians may not yet feel comfortable with or fully informed about medicinal marijuana. It is likely that [...]
Last week I wrote about how Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency (ARRA) instruments detected trace levels of Iodine-131 in AZ air from the troubled nuclear power plant in Japan. This week testing by ARRA and the AZ Dept. of Agriculture found trace levels of I-131 in the milk samples that they routinely monitor. The levels are of no [...]
Awhile back the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released preliminary guidance to state Medicaid agencies (AHCCCS) regarding a new federal funding opportunity to coordinate and integrate primary, acute, behavioral health, and long term supports for folks with chronic illnesses. The guidance encouraged state Medicaid agencies to work with partners to provide technical assistance for [...]
One of our objectives as we developed the final set of Rules for Medical Marijuana was to ensure reliable access to medication in rural Arizona. That's why we built in some incentives to encourage folks to apply for one of the rural CHAAs. First, we made sure that inventory could be transferred between dispensaries (and [...]
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