Following
the
Senate’s
recent
confirmation
of
Terry
Cole
as
administrator
of
the
Drug
Enforcement
Administration
(DEA),
more
than
200
organizations
have
sent
a
letter
urging
him
to
take
action
to
preserve
access
to
the
remote
prescribing
of
controlled
substances.
The
organizations
include
the
Alliance
for
Connected
Care,
the
American
Telemedicine
Association,
the
American
Psychiatric
Association,
Amazon,
Bicycle
Health,
Teladoc
and
more.
Flexibilities
that
allowed
for
the
prescribing
of
controlled
substances
via
telehealth
were
put
in
place
during
the
Covid-19
pandemic
to
expand
access
to
care.
After
being
extended
several
times,
the
flexibilities
are
now
set
to
expire
at
the
end
of
the
year.
As
the
deadline
approaches,
the
organizations
in
the
letter
urged
the
DEA
to
engage
with
experts
and
stakeholders
on
policies
that
would
“continue
access
to
telehealth
while
preventing
diversion.”
They
also
called
for
a
plan
to
be
put
in
place
by
the
fall
that
would
“prevent
millions
of
Americans
from
losing
access
to
their
medical
treatments
in
December
of
2025.”
They
noted
that
telehealth
has
been
extremely
beneficial
for
Americans,
especially
for
those
in
more
remote
areas.
“For
example,
as
of
December
2023,
more
than
half
(169
million)
of
the
U.S.
population
lives
in
a
Mental
Health
Professional
Shortage
Area
(HPSA)
and
broader
access
to
telehealth
has
been
crucial
in
creating
new
access
to
care
for
these
individuals,”
they
said.
“Overly
broad
restrictions
will
lead
to
harsh
consequences
for
many
Americans
relying
on
telehealth
to
access
health
services.”
During
the
Biden
administration,
several
policy
changes
regarding
the
remote
prescribing
of
controlled
substances
were
introduced,
but
they
faced
strong
opposition
from
the
telehealth
industry.
For
example,
in
the
final
days
of
the
Biden
administration,
the
DEA
released
several
new
telehealth
rules,
including
one
that
would
create
a
special
registration
process
to
allow
a
clinician
to
prescribe
medications
through
telemedicine
visits
without
an
in-person
evaluation.
However,
the
rule
had
significant
restrictions
that
had
telehealth
advocates
up
in
arms,
such
as
requiring
physicians
to
be
located
in
the
same
state
as
the
patient
when
prescribing
certain
medications.
Advocates
previously
told
MedCity
News
that
the
rule
interferes
with
the
clinician’s
job
and
creates
barriers
for
patients.
In
the
letter,
the
organizations
added
that
the
DEA
should
hold
a
meeting
or
forum
with
experts
in
the
field
to
create
a
long-term
policy
for
the
remote
prescribing
of
controlled
substances.
“Past
efforts
which
did
not
fully
engage
stakeholders
and
Congress
had
unintended
consequences
–
such
as
the
creation
of
massive
significant
new
regulatory
burdens
on
the
health
care
systems,”
they
argued.
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