The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently issued two proposed regulations that permanently extend many telemedicine flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
DEA had issued broad waivers during the COVID-19 emergency to allow for the use of telehealth to prescribe controlled substances even for initial encounters.
The proposed rules – developed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and in close coordination with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – would allow continued use of telehealth to prescribe controlled substances in cases where patients have never been treated in-person by the prescriber before, with safeguards described below.