On May 10, 2023, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a temporary rule, extending some telemedicine flexibilities adopted under the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). This rule becomes effective May 11, 2023.
This temporary rule was published in response to two proposed rules by DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on March 1, 2023 (“Telemedicine Prescribing of Controlled Substances When the Practitioner and the Patient Have Not Had a Prior In-Person Medical Evaluation” and “Expansion of Induction of Buprenorphine via Telemedicine Encounter”).These proposed rules received over 38,000 public comments. Thus, while the DEA and HHS review the submitted comments and consider revisions to the post-PHE telemedicine policy, the recent temporary rule extends current flexibilities to avoid lapses in care and ensure patients continue to have access to necessary medications. Specifically, the agencies will continue to waive the in-person requirement for the prescription of controlled substances until November 11, 2023, and then extend the PHE prescribing flexibilities an additional year for patients with established telehealth relationships with their providers.
Read the temporary rule here.
Last Updated on May 17, 2023 by Aimed Alliance
