The American Telemedicine Association and its ATA Action group released a statement on Monday outlining their opposition to the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s proposed permanent change to with the rules around the prescription of controlled drugs through telemedicine.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
The DEA says it is expanding patient access to critical therapies beyond the scheduled end of the COVID-19 public health emergency — with the exception of teleprescribing controlled substance.
The leading drug agency has proposed tighter limits on the online prescribing of certain drugs, such as Adderall to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), opioids and a A number of non-narcotic drugs such as Ambien, Valium, Xanax and ketamine, aim to partially reverse the regulation of telehealth during the pandemic, according to the report. The New York Times.
For opiate use disorder medications such as buprenorphine and some others, a prescribing physician who has never conducted a direct patient assessment will be allowed to prescribe a month’s supply. through telemedicine, with an in-person consultation required to purchase more, when the PHE ends May 11, according to the DEA’s announcement.
Kyle Zebley, ATA’s senior vice president of public policy and executive director of ATA Action, responded in a statement: “The proposed rules from the DEA are significantly more restrictive than those proposed by the DEA. guaranteed.
“There is a potential public health crisis for many different medical situations, including mental health and substance use disorders,” he said.
“Continuity of care for countless Americans will be cut off, potentially leaving these patients in the crevices of our health care system without access to other types of cancer,” Zebley said. necessary medicine”.
The DEA and advocates of tighter restrictions say the goal is to prevent misuse and abuse of controlled substances.
Separately, the The New York Times investigated online ketamine prescriptions for depression and found that a lack of monitoring and screening can lead to the acquisition of ketamine without proper medical supervision.
Meanwhile, the ATA called new rules requiring patients who begin treatment through telehealth during the pandemic to be seen in person after the PHE ends as unnecessary.
“As the ATA, ATA Action, provider groups and patient advocates have long stated, mandatory in-person visits are a clinically unnecessary barrier to care. appropriate,” Zebley said.
The public has 30 days to comment, and the ATA said it will submit additional comments.
TREND TO BIGGER WOMAN
While critics of the PHE waiver allowing online prescribing say the system has been abused, many health care organizations have asked the DEA to revise its rules on remote controlled substances. and make them permanent.
They say using telehealth to deliver buprenorphine has helped increase access to care and redress health inequalities.
Patients who are geographically distant from their clinicians or face other inequities are a concern as PHE draws to a close.
The Ryan Haight Act requires the DEA to establish a rule that ensures that healthcare providers can successfully prescribe controlled substances through telehealth and the Mandatory SUPPORT Act The DEA issued the rule by October 2019.
But, it didn’t happen.
“In fact, the DEA’s failure to address this problem means that the majority of healthcare providers use telehealth to prescribe controlled substances and treat their patients have been hindered from providing them with the quality care they need,” according to the website of Senator Mark Warner, D-Va.
He wrote in 2021: “These restrictions have been temporarily lifted during the COVID-19 public health emergency and I welcome that, but patients and providers need a solution. a more permanent and permanent solution to this long-delayed rule-making process.”
ON PROFILE
“The DEA is committed to ensuring that all Americans have access to the medicines they need,” said Anne Milgram, the DEA administrator, in the agency’s announcement of the long-awaited proposed rule being implemented. currently with the US Department of Health and Human Services.
“The permanent expansion of telemedicine flexibility will continue to help patients across the country gain greater access to care while also ensuring patient safety. DEA is committed to expanding healthcare. remote with barriers that prevent over-prescribing online of potentially harmful controlled drugs,” she concluded.
“We appreciate some of the positive provisions provided by the proposed rules, including allowing for uninterrupted care for 180 days after the end of the State of Emergency. public health implications of COVID-19 on prescribing relationships that have been established over the past three years,” Zebley noted in the ATA statement.
“Our hope is that the DEA will work with us to avoid unnecessary and inappropriate restrictions on the prescribing of essential drugs to vulnerable and vulnerable populations,” he said. fully serviced.”
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
