HIV, Stage III and the Georgia Medical Cannabis Card

“Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), when diagnosed as stage III”

Qualifier to note: This condition carries a staging qualifier. An HIV diagnosis alone is not what the statute names — the law requires that it has been diagnosed as stage III. The documentation must show that staging.

Proof of a qualifying diagnosis is required. Certification is a clinical decision by the physician, and no outcome is promised. Certification is not a prescription.

Infectious disease clinic notes stating stage, CD4 count history including nadir values, and treatment records.

• Stage III HIV is a specific CDC classification. The records that establish it come from infectious disease or HIV primary care and generally include CD4 counts — a nadir below 200 cells per microliter, or a CD4 percentage under 14 — or documentation of a stage III defining opportunistic condition. Viral load results and antiretroviral treatment history accompany those numbers in the chart.
• The most direct document is an infectious disease clinic note that states the stage explicitly, or a laboratory record showing the qualifying CD4 result. Because staging is based on the lowest recorded CD4 count, a current CD4 count that has recovered on treatment does not erase a prior stage III classification — the historical laboratory record is what documents it.

The process is the same for every qualifying diagnosis: you book and pay on the telehealth platform, complete your intake forms, and upload your diagnosis documentation and identification. Once that is complete your appointment is confirmed. You join by video, Dr. Shri Parimi verifies your identification and reviews your documentation and history with you, and makes a clinical decision. After a successful visit the State of Georgia emails you, you pay the state fee, and the card is mailed to you. See the six steps in detail or review the two separate fees.

Many patients do not have their documentation in hand, and that is workable. You can ask Dr. Shri Parimi to request records from your treating physician with your written permission, or bring what you already have — a discharge summary, a portal printout, a laboratory result — and discuss the rest at the visit. Proof of a qualifying diagnosis is required before any certification can be made, so the earlier you start gathering records, the smoother the visit.

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See all 18 qualifying conditions