Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced an extension of current flexibilities for telehealth prescriptions of controlled substances.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, prescriptions of substances to treat opioid use disorder and anxiety were permitted as long as patients kept telehealth appointments with physicians. Normally, patients must see their physician in person to receive prescriptions for controlled substances.
On May 11, the extension was set to expire with the end of the public health emergency related to the pandemic.
While the DEA reviews a record number of comments received in response to new proposed telemedicine rules, Virginia’s Sen. Mark R. Warner released a statement on the extension. Warner spoke out in March about the need to ensure that patients continue getting their medications. In August 2022, he sent a letter to the DEA asking for an explanation of its plan for continuity of care after the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
“I’m pleased to see that the DEA is taking additional time to consider the comments to their proposed rule, which I believe overlooked the key benefits and lessons learned during the pandemic. This proposed rule could counterproductively exacerbate the opioid crisis and push patients to seek dangerous alternatives to proper health care, such as self-medicating, by removing a telehealth option in many cases. I’m working with my colleagues in Congress on a response to DEA’s proposed rule, and I look forward to further robust discussion on this critical issue,” Warner said last week.
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Rebecca Barnabi
