Opiate Alternative Pilot Program

A new way of treating patients with chronic pain, the Opiate Alternative Pilot Program (OAPP) will give the people of Illinois more options with medical marijuana. Here are some details of this groundbreaking new project:

Do You Qualify?

To qualify, you must:

1. Be 21 years of age or over.
2. Must have been prescribed an opiate within the last year (Norco, Vicodin, Oxycontin, Suboxone, Tramadol, and many others) or have a condition that warrants an opiate, based on generally accepted standards of care.*
3. Have a bona fide patient-physician relationship.**

If you have these three qualifications, you can get your medical cannabis card.

*A condition that warrants an opiate includes migraines, chronic neck or back pain, trigeminal neuralgia, intractable pain, neuropathic pain, musculoskeletal pain, pelvic pain, endometriosis, joint pains, shoulder pain, post-operative pain, etc. But, you must have medical records showing you have seen a doctor for this condition and you have this condition (we do not make these diagnoses for you unless you see our primary care providers).

**Bona fide patient-physician relationships mean that you must see us at least twice to get your medical card. You do not already need a bona fide patient-physician relationship (you can create that relationship), we just want to be clear that we’ll have to see you twice in order to get your card.

What Do I Need to Do to Get My OAPP Card?

It’s pretty easy:

1. If you have filled an opiate prescription in the last 12 months, we will look you up on our Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program (with your name and date of birth) to see what opiates you have been on. If you qualify, you will get your card. We just want to make sure you qualify.
2. Come see our doctor at Innovative Wellness!
3. You will need a second visit (to develop a patient-physician relationship). We use telemedicine as an option to do the second visit.
4. You need your Illinois Driver’s License or Illinois Identification Card and one more proof of residency (utility bill such as gas or electric, a cell phone bill, bank statement or lease).
5. 2×2-inch picture (passport-style picture…no, you do not need a passport)

We can take the 2×2-inch picture at our clinic and scan your proof of residencies at our clinic. We offer this service and charge $20 for the passport pictures (similar to Walgreens, but without the wait).

What Do You Get?

If you qualify, you get your medical card within a day of seeing the physician (your second visit, usually done via telemedicine).

1. The OAPP 90-day card for medical cannabis

Here’s the great news: you do NOT have to wait three months anymore! You will get your temporary card via email within one day of seeing our doctors. You can go to the dispensary and purchase your medication upon receipt of your temporary card.

How to Book an Appointment

If you are sure you have filled a prescription for an opiate, use this button to make an actual appointment. We will review your information and if you qualify, you will receive an email confirming your appointment and stating what to bring, who we are, etc.

If you are not sure if you qualify or if you do not have a prescription for an opiate in the last year, please fill out this form, and one of our medical cannabis specialists will call you within two business days. Please start getting your medical records showing your condition that warrants an opiate (we want to see that you went to the doctor’s office for this condition—even if you did not receive an opiate—so we know you did visit the physician to discuss options).

What Are the Costs?

We know you want to know the cost:

1. Doctor visit No. 1* (We take these medical insurances.)
2. Doctor visit No. 2*
3. Illinois Application Fee (Illinois charges you $10 for the 90-day card)

That’s it. No more fingerprinting, no more processing fees, no more waiting three months for your card.

If you use health insurance and have hit your deductible, you will need to only pay the $10 for your Illinois Medical Card (the state fee) and get your card within 24 hours of your second visit!

With insurance, Innovative Wellness is the most affordable place to get your card in Illinois.

*If we do not take your insurance, you qualify for the Self-Pay Plan, which is $175 per visit. Normally, a patient-physician relationship takes at least two visits.

The total cost to get an Illinois Medical Card here depends on your insurance, but for a one-year application, not including doctor’s fees, the total cost is $10. Yep, that is it. If you do not have insurance, it is our self-pay rates.

By the way, this is a one-stop-shop for you to get your application sent to the Illinois Department of Public Health. It is also the most cost efficient. We take most commercial insurance.

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