The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has issued a Final Rule for public display titled “Continuity of Care via Telemedicine for Veterans Affairs Patients.” This Final rule authorizes Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) practitioners acting within the scope of their VA employment to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine to a VA patient with whom they have not conducted an in-person medical evaluation. VA practitioners are permitted to prescribe controlled substances to VA patients if another VA practitioner has, at any time, previously conducted an in-person medical evaluation of the VA patient, subject to certain conditions discussed in the Final Rule. The new policy became effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register on January 17.
This Final Rule implements telehealth regulatory flexibilities and protections to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine enacted in the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008. The Final Rule provides for permanent flexibilities that recognize the specialized needs of veterans, particularly those from vulnerable populations, those with geographic and physical barriers to care, and those susceptible to mental health conditions due to the nature of their military service.