Cannabis Report FY2024 (IDPH portion)
Illinois officials recently released the Annual Cannabis Report for Fiscal Year 2024. The 144-page report, compiled by the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office (CROO), incorporates data from several state departments. This article focuses on the Department of Public Health (IDPH) portion of the report, which touts this year’s accomplishments as hiring needed staff and hosting Medical Cannabis Advisory Board (MCAB) meetings.
The Medical Cannabis Advisory Board (MCAB) convened four times in FY24. The inaugural meeting was held in August with an agenda that included discussion of the role of the Board and an overview of bylaws. The focus of the subsequent three meetings was the examination of conditions under consideration for addition to the list of debilitating conditions that are qualifying for participation in the Medical Cannabis Patient Program (MCPP). For each condition under consideration, a vote was taken to determine if the Board would make a recommendation to the IDPH Director to approve the condition for addition to the list of qualifying conditions. Whereas the Board may make a recommendation, the final decision to add disorders is rendered by the IDPH Director.
During those meetings, six conditions were reviewed and voted upon, and a final decision will be rendered in FY25. MCAB board members voted to recommend four new conditions, including Endometriosis, Female Organismic Disorder, Ovarian Cyst, and Uterine Fibroid. Separate votes for a “qualifying term” to the condition also was recommended for Painful Ovarian Cyst and Painful Uterine Fibroid. The four recommend conditions have been forwarded to the IDPH Director’s office for final decision and are awaiting the appointment of a MCAB chair and co-chair. Neither an appointment date nor a date for the next MCAB meeting has been set.
“The governor’s office is working to finalize the appointment of a chair and co-chair for the board, and we are working to schedule its next meeting,” Public Information Officer, Jim Leach said in August. “At its last meeting, the board offered recommendations on the potential inclusion of additional conditions to be eligible for medical cannabis. Those recommendations are being reviewed by the IDPH director’s office.”
According to the report, “In fiscal year 2024, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Division of Medical Cannabis focused on getting the staff needed to meet the demands of processing and customer service. The division chief position was filled, and three processors and four customer service staff were hired and received onboarding, orientation, and training. IDPH continued to pursue the filling of additional positions to meet demands and cut backlogs. In addition, IDPH worked toward the establishment of a new patient tracking system and staff were trained on its functions and capabilities. This informed education and training, manual and procedural, and quality assurance needs for the next fiscal year. IDPH continued to work with local health departments to assist patients and caregivers with applications for Medical Cannabis Patient Registry Cards. Finally, IDPH conducted internal evaluation to inform improvements and support the quality of service provided to program participants.”
IDPH FY2025 goals include:
The IDPH Division of Medical Cannabis aims to improve the quality of operations for fiscal year 2025. This entails providing staff additional education and training, ensuring robust quality assurance, improving customer experience and enhancing processes and procedures in the unit. The big task for customer-experience improvement will be the launch of a new registration system that includes mobile compatibility. To improve the quality of processing and customer service, IDPH will refresh its quality assurance program, and analyses of that program will inform updates to processes and procedures.
IDPH FY25 Essential Projects include:
- Launch the new Medical Cannabis Patient Registry System to improve patient experience and satisfaction.
- Provide education and training via outreach sessions and online materials to patients, caregivers, and providers to support the transition to the new registry platform for all users.
- Refresh QA plans with a focus on staffing assignments.
The annual cannabis report also includes data and feedback from several other state departments, including the Department of Agriculture (IDOA), State Police, Department of Revenue, Department of Human Services (IDHS), and Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). Check back soon for articles detailing information in the report from these departments or click here for previously published articles. For more Illinois cannabis industry news, subscribe to Illinois News Joint’s newsletter here.
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