The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in concert with other federal agencies, has taken various steps in the past few months to strengthen a practitioner’s ability to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine, a...more
The Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") announced three new regulations related to the prescription of controlled substances resulting from a telemedicine encounter, including the long-anticipated Proposed Rule on Special...more
On January 17, 2025, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published two rules regarding telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances: a proposed rule...more
In the final days of the Biden administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a proposed rule that would allow practitioners with a Special Registration to prescribe Schedule III-V, and in limited...more
Telehealth practitioners must take note of the DEA’s proposed rule making that would impact the way telehealth practitioners can prescribe controlled substances. The Ryan Haight Act and the Proposed Rules-...more
Less than one month after the Biden administration’s announcement on January 20, 2023, declaring the end of the public health emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced...more
On March 1, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released the proposed rule, “Telemedicine Prescribing of Controlled Substances When the Practitioner and the Patient Have Not Had a Prior In-Person Medical...more
The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (“PHE”) led to a rapid expansion in the utilization of telehealth. Now, almost three years later, governmental entities have focused their attention on telehealth services and the...more
The U.S. Congress passed the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 (“Ryan Haight Act”) because of “the increasing use of prescription controlled substances by adolescents and others for non-medical...more
On January 9, 2019, the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) issued a policy comment letter to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), advocating for provider-friendly changes to federal controlled substance...more
On October 24, 2018, the President signed the sweeping, opioid-focused SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (Pub. L. 115-271, the “Act”) into law. Title III, Chapter 4 of the Act, titled the Special Registration for...more
Congress has taken another step forward to require the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to activate a special registration allowing physicians and nurse practitioners to prescribe controlled substances via...more
On Feb. 9, 2018, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA). This wide-reaching legislation enacts major changes for telehealth policy in Medicare by incorporating...more
It seems the efforts of telemedicine advocates to change federal law and allow greater prescribing of controlled substances are no longer falling on deaf ears. Congress just released a pair of draft discussion bills to amend...more
Editor’s Note: This article is the second in a series addressing telemedicine prescribing and controlled substances, designed to give some much needed practical guidance and orientation to established healthcare providers,...more