The Drug Enforcement Administration is set to once again extend a COVID-19 era rule that allows clinicians to remotely prescribe controlled medications, such as Adderall and Vicodin.
The DEA is set to publish a rule on Tuesday with the Health and Human Services Department that will temporarily extend providers' ability to remotely prescribe Schedule II-V controlled medications via telemedicine to new and existing patients through Dec. 31, 2025. Current flexibilities were set to expire at the end of this year.
Related: Specter of strict DEA prescribing rule rattles telehealth sector
On Friday, an unpublished version of the rule was released on the Federal Register.
The DEA said the third extension of these flexibilities will ensure continuity of care for providers and patients who have come to rely on telehealth for controlled medication prescriptions. The additional time will allow DEA and HHS’s proposed final and permanent rule to be issued jointly, the agencies said in the unpublished temporary rule.
The telehealth industry and mental health groups have scrambled in recent months amid fears the DEA was going to issue strict limits on remote prescribing of controlled substances.
In February 2023, the DEA released a proposed rule that would require an in-person visit for prescriptions of Schedule II substances like Vicodin, OxyContin, Adderall and Ritalin. Schedule III-V substances like codeine, Xanax and Ambien—as well as buprenorphine, a narcotic used to treat opioid addiction—would have only been prescribed over telehealth for an initial 30-day dose. After the 30 days, patients would need to see a doctor once to get a refill. The rule was widely criticized by the telehealth industry and the DEA said it received a record 38,000 comments.
HHS and DEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
