DEA, HHS postpone permanent telehealth prescribing rule—again
The final rule developed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which maintained many COVID-era rules for telehealth prescribing, has been delayed again.
The framework was put in place in January and was expected to go into effect on Feb. 18. However, delays from an executive order by President Donald Trump halted the implementation of new rules published in the Federal Register. Now it appears the agencies are backtracking altogether.
A temporary solution that extends the rule through the end of the year remains in effect, but permanent rules to allow for and monitor prescriptions of controlled substances online are still absent.
Under the proposed rules, clinicians were to be allowed to prescribe a six-month supply of buprenorphine, a non-opioid painkiller used to help addicts wean off drugs like oxycodone and fentanyl. That expansion is now on hold. Additionally, regulations for prescribing Schedule I and Schedule II drugs were also set to go into effect, but now those changes are null, as the DEA and HHS search for a new permanent solution.
The current pandemic-era rules are, in some instances, looser than the proposed permanent regulations. Under the now-cancelled rules, prescribers were required to register as telehealth providers in each state where they practice. Further, Schedule II substances—those classified as the most potentially dangerous and addictive—were to make up less than 50% of a provider’s or practice's total telehealth prescriptions.
An additional set of guidelines was suggested to permit different specialties to prescribe lower-schedule drugs (III and IV) to psychiatric, hospice, and home care patients. Each provider type would be subject to varying degrees of regulatory scrutiny.
At the time the rule was finalized, the DEA argued that the new laws would balance the need for convenience and access while protecting patients and consumers from the easy access that can contribute to addiction.
For now, the status quo will remain in effect, with the telehealth prescription extension ending Dec. 31. The law received mixed reactions from providers and professional associations alike, and it remains to be seen how public comment impacted the decision to pull the implementation, which was scheduled for March 21.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.