For the second time this year, the Drug Enforcement Administration is extending telehealth prescription options as the agency continues to weigh how and when clinicians can provide drugs virtually.
The flexible rules, which have been in place since the COVID-19 pandemic, were set to expire this year, but numerous organizations and leaders within the long-term care sector have advocated that they be made permanent.
The DEA received 38,000 public comments over the summer on the issue and held a two-day listening session last month.
Although the DEA is concerned with access to opioids or other controlled substances, many advocates for the telehealth flexibilities argue that, for many older adults, access to pain relieving medication via telehealth is vital, particularly for those in either palliative or hospice care.
The original rule to limit teleprescribing would place a heavy burden on pharmacies, said Chad Worz, PharmD, CEO for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.
“We appreciate that the DEA is taking the time to hear stakeholders and get the final rule right,” Worz told McKnight’s on Tuesday. “The rulemaking failed to envision how telemedicine technologies are currently used in long-term care facilities. We hope that DEA will take our comments into consideration when drafting the final rule to ensure that patients have access to needed specialists and medications.”
The DEA’s newest extension is now set to run through 2024. Beyond that, DEA officials have suggested the agency could allow for a special registration period for certain telemedicine prescriptions.
“We continue to carefully consider the input received and are working to promulgate a final set of telemedicine regulations, giving patients and medical practitioners time to plan for, and adapt to, the new rules once issued,” DEA spokespersons said in a statement last week.
