The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released three new rules impacting prescribing controlled substances via telehealth, including the long-awaited regulations regarding establishing a telehealth prescribing registration process that was first mandated by Congress in 2008. While the registration regulation is a proposed rule, the two additional rules regarding buprenorphine and Veterans Affairs providers are final rules:
· Proposed Rule – Special Registrations for Telemedicine and Limited State Telemedicine Registrations
· Final Rule – Expansion of Buprenorphine Treatment via Telemedicine Encounter
· Final Rule – Continuity of Care via Telemedicine for Veterans Affairs Patients
Each of the rules seeks to create permanent exceptions to the existing in-person evaluation requirement related to the prescribing of controlled substances. Readers may recall that the DEA’s current permanent telehealth prescribing policies have been waived since the onset on the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) with the current temporary waiver currently slated to expire at the end of 2025. While these final and proposed regulations by the DEA would expand permanent policies, they will not be as broad as what has been seen during the temporary waiver period.