The DEA has extended remote prescribing of controlled substances until the end of 2024, granting a second extension to consider new regulations. This move eliminates the proposed rule requiring in-person visits for controlled medication prescriptions. Remote prescribing advocates support this decision, emphasizing its importance for patient care. A special registration process proposal aims to ensure safe and legitimate virtual prescribing. Telehealth is praised for addressing mental health challenges, particularly in underserved areas. This extension marks a pivotal moment for telehealth, with various pandemic-era provisions up for permanent consideration and the opportunity for substantial healthcare reform.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced an extension of the flexibility in remote prescribing of controlled substances until the end of 2024. This extension comes as a response to a substantial amount of feedback and input received during listening sessions and through comments, prompting the DEA to take more time to consider new regulations. The DEA is expected to release final telemedicine regulations by the fall of 2024.
This extension marks the second time the DEA has prolonged these flexibilities, with the first deadline set to expire on November 11. The DEA aims to ensure that patients and medical practitioners have adequate time to adjust to the upcoming regulations.
One significant outcome of this extension is that a proposed DEA rule requiring in-person visits for controlled medication prescriptions will not be implemented. This decision has received support from various quarters, including the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), telepsychiatry practices, and other proponents of remote prescribing.
During the listening sessions, individuals like Georgia Gaveras, co-founder and chief medical officer at Talkiatry, and Geoffrey Boyce, founder and CEO of Array Behavior Care New Jersey, emphasized the importance of maintaining remote prescribing while implementing safeguards to prevent diversion or drug abuse. They pointed out that mandating in-person visits could disrupt patient care due to wait times and staffing shortages.
Gaveras and Boyce have jointly proposed a special registration process to the DEA, which would enable providers to prescribe medically necessary substances via telehealth. This process aims to combat diversion and establish a secure framework for legitimate virtual prescribing.
The ATA has also commended the DEA’s consideration of a special registration process and supports the extension of remote prescribing. Telehealth is seen as a crucial solution to address the mental health crisis, particularly in rural areas and among vulnerable populations.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote prescribing was restricted by the Ryan Haight Act, which required at least one in-person medical evaluation by a practitioner. The Act was passed in response to internet pharmacies selling controlled substances online.
During the pandemic, waivers allowed for remote prescriptions, and the Public Health Emergency (PHE) ended on May 11. The DEA introduced a proposed rule in March, allowing telehealth prescribing after an initial in-person evaluation and requiring subsequent in-person examinations for controlled medication prescriptions.
The recent extension of remote prescribing flexibilities until December 31, 2024, implies that various telehealth provisions established during the pandemic will need to be reconsidered for more permanent implementation. This development is seen as a pivotal moment for telehealth, as it opens up opportunities to enhance healthcare access for underserved patient populations and make crucial changes to the healthcare system. The ATA emphasizes the need to seize this historic opportunity for positive healthcare reform.
