The new telehealth restrictions proposed by the Drug Enforcement Administration last week struck a sour chord with several industry stakeholders.
Many industry insiders condemned the move as out of touch and even dangerous, jeopardizing telehealth models’ effectiveness in behavioral health. Still, the proposal is not set in stone, and parts of it could change after it goes through its public comment phase, reports Behavioral Health Business.
Some industry experts say that the DEA is out of compliance with a long-standing mandate to create a special registration process to allow some providers to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth without in-person exams.
On Feb. 24, the DEA released proposed rules that essentially end all controlled substance prescribing via telehealth without a prior in-person examination. The proposed rules offer limited exceptions for 30-day supplies of specific medications, specific requirements on in-person exams and referrals, and create new industry terms and other administrative requirements.
The DEA ostensibly presented the rules as a bridge from the public health emergency flexibilities that allowed telehealth in behavioral health to flourish to a new era of permanent regulation. Read more.
