The much anticipated announcement of the Third Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications effective 15 November 2024.
When Covid began the DEA needed to find a solution to allow patients access to care but at the same time establish a bona fide Doctor/Patient relationship. The Ryan Haight Act of 2008 made telemedicine prescribing all but impossible when a practitioner needed to prescribe a controlled substance for a patient they had not seen in person.
The DEA in conjunction with HHS made the decision in March of 2020 to waive the in person requirement at the federal level for certain controlled substance medications. Schedule II Narcotic medications are specifically excluded from this telemedicine rule, as these medications pose real danger for overdose, truly require an in person examination due the potential for abuse and are the basis of the original restrictions imposed under the Ryan Haight Act of 2008.
None of the flexibilities outlined in the Third Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications supersede any of the state laws that still require an in-person, face to face medical examination prior to the prescribing of any controlled substance medication. This law only applies to the majority of states that allow the prescribing of controlled substance medications via telemedicine.
See attached full text of the Third Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications.
https://www.andersontriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/HHS-DEA.pdf
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