Navigate the healthcare industry
Healthcare Brew covers pharmaceutical developments, health startups, the latest tech, and how it impacts hospitals and providers to keep administrators and providers informed.
Health organizations are urging the federal government to preserve pandemic-era flexibilities that allowed controlled substances to be prescribed without an in-person visit.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made this allowance during Covid-19 when in-person visits weren’t possible. The temporary rule was originally slated to expire when the public health emergency ended in May 2023, but it was extended to December 31 of this year.
Why the urgency? In September 10 letters, more than 330 organizations said they feared that the DEA may soon yank the virtual prescription rug out from under millions of patients, either by not renewing the prescribing flexibilities or by establishing stricter rules, such as limiting telehealth prescriptions for certain drugs to 30 days without an in-person visit.
The DEA has not yet proposed a new rule to replace the soon-to-expire one, and the letters contend that time is running out to draft a rule, respond to public comment, and finalize it before the end of the year.
Organizations including the American Telemedicine Association, American Psychiatric Association, Pew Charitable Trusts, and Amazon signed the letters asking Congress and the White House to extend these flexibilities for two more years.
“An extension would avert patient harm from abruptly cut off care, while giving us all more time to come to consensus about the best way to balance access and enforcement,” the letter reads.
What meds would be affected? The current flexibilities extend to all Schedule II through V medications. This includes everything from Adderall to fentanyl to methadone, with only Schedule I drugs—those with “no currently accepted medical use,” like heroin and ecstasy—excluded, according to the DEA’s website.In particular, an increasing number of patients have received treatment for mental health conditions via telehealth, a June analysis by market research firm Trilliant Health found. Trilliant estimated that in Q3 2023, 30.3% of antidepressants, 38.9% of stimulants, and 5.4% of opioids were prescribed online.
September’s letter points to nationwide shortages of psychiatrists and argues that telemedicine is a “lifeline” for people in rural areas where in-person visits for necessities like substance use treatment can be hard to come by.
“Given the widespread provider shortage across medical professions and specialties, this flexibility has been essential in ensuring that patients receive timely and necessary care. Continuing these practices is vital to sustaining access to treatment and addressing the ongoing healthcare challenges in underserved areas,” the letter reads.
Update 09/19/2024: This article was updated to reflect that on Wednesday, a House committee voted to advance a bill, the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024, that would extend these pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities for two more years.