
Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation - rickharrison
http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/04/cannabismd/
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click170
This is maybe a little bit off topic, but I am glad to see that Doctors on
Demand would be doing general medical house calls in the US. This seems like a
good idea, I hope it spreads.

I don't live in the US myself, but I've always wondered why doctors doing
house calls was a UK thing but wasn't a North American thing, even in Canada.

Are there real obstacles preventing doctors from making house calls in the US,
or is it just tradition to "go see your doctor" instead of them coming to see
you?

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001sky
Lets say a doctor charges $1,000/hour and each trip takes 20 minutes, plus 10
mintues to egress a building and parking garage/pick up a taxi. The overhead
for a single visit is...$1,000 give or take...

You can adjust the numbers around a bit but the point remains the same unless
you radically change the transit time and the wage by a factor of 10.

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ceejayoz
No GP is making $1k/hour.

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Crito
Swap in any number that you think is reasonable. The reasoning and conclusion
is the same.

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ceejayoz
You said it'd have to change by a factor of 10, but your estimation of a GP's
salary is off by at least a factor of 10 - $100/hour would be a much more
reasonable estimate. A bit high, even.
[http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291062.htm](http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291062.htm)

~~~
TTPrograms
It still halves the efficiency of a critical, expensive workforce that is
already in high demand.

The number doesn't matter - it's still suggesting that it's feasible for
doctors to be half as productive as their potential. That seems absurd to me.

~~~
ceejayoz
This makes the assumption that home visits are the same level of productivity
as office visits. For the elderly, infirm, those who work during normal
doctors' office hours, etc., home visits might reach a population that isn't
getting good care currently.

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bunkydoo
Well, here's the thing. I'm not actually sure doctors will be out of the mix
with legalization on the horizon. Because to expand the cannabis market and
poach alcohol sales - you could have doctors vouch for cannabis & cannabis-
infused products as remedies for common ailments (when is the last time a
doctor did this for a brand of vodka?)Think Mary-Kay - but for doctors who
endorse weed. This market is going to be a lot bigger than I think anybody
realizes.

~~~
Crito
Actual legalization would kill this industry. In Washington and Colorado
_(states which have actually legalized, not merely implemented a medical
system or decriminalized)_ there is no need to see a doctor first. You just
walk into the store, show a photo id to establish your age, and hand over
cash.

Also: _" During Prohibition, Your Doctor Could Write You a Prescription for
Booze"_ [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-prohibition-
you...](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-prohibition-your-doctor-
could-write-you-prescription-booze-180947940)

~~~
rosser
It's my understanding that under the WA system, some things still require a
doctor's recommendation.

EDIT: A recommendation increases the amount of marijuana or marijuana-based
product one can legally possess (strictly speaking, it offers an affirmative
defense for people possessing more than the amount authorized by I-502).

Source:
[http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Marijuana/MedicalMari...](http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Marijuana/MedicalMarijuanaCannabis/GeneralFrequentlyAskedQuestions)

~~~
Crito
These sort of "house call" or "doctor-on-location" weed businesses rely on
people trying to get high that day. I find it incredibly hard to believe that
they could be sustained by people who want to remain legal while owning more
than an ounce of weed (a rather large amount of weed for all but the heaviest
users...).

If it is merely a matter of keeping more than an ounce legally, the urgency is
all but gone, and with it the advantage of the house-call system.

Also I sure as hell wouldn't start a business based on the current state of
medical marijuana in Washington state; the system will likely be gutted and
reworked relatively soon. Furthermore states that legalize in the future will
likely follow Colorado's example more than Washington's.

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briandear
I find it interesting that YC and other significant investors/players in the
startup space to be investing in a product that still remains illegal in the
United States. It's still a schedule I drug.

I think the floodgates have opened towards full legalization, but for
VC/Investors/Accelerators to invest in a company who's product is illegal --
that's bold. Good for them!

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eigenrick
Legalizing weed in CA will destroy an entire industry.

~~~
ryanmcbride
Dispensaries, Growers, Distributers will all still exist. Doctors will be out
of the mix but they have the fall back of... you know... being doctors.

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PeterWhittaker
Perhaps it's just because I live far from the valley and have never used Uber,
but I had to scan the article repeatedly to figure out what the headline
meant.

(No, I didn't read it, I simply scanned, I stopped reading after the first
sentence. If you cannot bother to tell me in the first sentence why I should
continue, I don't. And telling me you visited a website doesn't tell me why
you did so. Whatever.)

What does it mean, you ask? That the company described has struck a deal with
local physicians to perform on-demand evaluations for medical marijuana
prescriptions.

A better headline, less link-baity, would be "Meadow (YC W15) hires doctors
for {just in time|on demand|favourite term here} medical marijuana evaluation.

But that wouldn't be as sexy as uberizing, now, would it?

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prawn
I almost gave up after your own first sentence. Your post could've been simply
this:

 _A better headline, less link-baity, would be "Meadow (YC W15) hires doctors
for {just in time|on demand|favourite term here} medical marijuana
evaluation."_

