DEA Extends Telemedicine Prescription of Controlled Medicines

In an announcement on October 6, 2023, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that they would extend the COVID-19 telemedicine prescription flexibilities for controlled medicines. The statement was submitted to the Federal Register on September 29, 2023, under the Second Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medicines.

“DEA received more than 38,000 comments on its proposed telemedicine rules and recently held two days of public listening sessions related to those rules. We continue to carefully consider the input received and are working to promulgate a final set of telemedicine regulations by the fall of 2024, giving patients and medical practitioners time to plan for and adapt to the new rules once issued. Accordingly, DEA, jointly with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has extended current telemedicine flexibilities through December 31, 2024,” noted the DEA announcement.

Earlier this year, on February 24, 2023, the DEA issued a press release proposing updated telemedicine flexibility rules to extend the flexibilities with additional guidelines to prescribe controlled substances with a high potential for abuse safely.

Shortly after, on March 1, 2023, the DEA opened two notices of proposed rulemaking regarding the telemedicine prescribing guidelines to comments from the public. By May 10, 2023, the DEA and HHS reviewed the comments and extended the regulations until the third quarter of 2023.

“In this second temporary rule, as DEA and HHS continue to consider revisions to the proposed rules set forth in the March 1, 2023 NPRMs and in light of Telemedicine Listening Sessions that DEA hosted on September 12 and 13, 2023, DEA and HHS are further extending such exceptions to existing DEA regulations for new practitioner–patient relationships through December 31, 2024,” revealed the document in the Federal Register.

Although this is a temporary extension and not a final ruling, many patients and industry members hope for continued telemedicine prescribing flexibility. These flexibilities have improved access to care. On the flip side, telemedicine prescribing of controlled medicines may increase the probability of prescriber identity theft and prescription drug fraud. The DEA and HHS are tasked with balancing increased accessibility and patient safety.