Telehealth Industry Pushes Back on DEA Prescribing Proposal

Telemedicine advocates are urging the Biden administration to reel in plans to reintroduce pre-pandemic restrictions on prescribing of controlled substances via telehealth.

In response to a proposed rule released in late February by the Drug Enforcement Administration, telemedicine companies and health-care providers say the reintroduction of an in-person visitation requirement would be onerous to providers and could limit access to medically necessary care for patients who rely on online providers for long term-treatments.

Their concerns come as telehealth use has exploded during the Covid-19 pandemic and, along with it, worries about potential abuses, including overprescribing of controlled substances and ...