The effective date for the telehealth rules “Expansion of Buprenorphine Treatment via Telemedicine Encounter” and “Continuity of Care via Telemedicine for Veterans Affairs Patients” has been delayed to December 31, 2025.
The first rule amends related regulations to expand the circumstances under which practitioners registered by the DEA are authorized to prescribe schedule III-V controlled substances approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid use disorder via a telemedicine encounter, including an audio-only telemedicine encounter.
The second rule expands the circumstances under which Department of Veterans Affairs practitioners acting within the scope of their Veterans Affairs employment are authorized to prescribe schedule II-V controlled substances via telemedicine to a Veterans Affairs patient with whom they have not conducted an in-person medical evaluation if another Veterans Affairs practitioner has, at any time, previously conducted an in-person medical evaluation of the Veterans Affairs patient, subject to certain conditions.
The agencies behind the rule, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), stated that the delay was “for the purpose of further reviewing any questions of fact, law and policy that the rules may raise” following 32 comments they received in response to the request for public comments.
This delay is in addition to and follows an earlier one brought about by the Presidential Memorandum, “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.” For this reason, the earlier effective date of March 21, 2025, is no longer valid and, again, has been pushed to December 31.
Affected entities, some of whom have been mentioned above, include DEA-registered practitioners, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) practitioners, patients receiving buprenorphine treatment, and VA patients requiring controlled substances via telemedicine.
Importantly, the delay does not limit current telemedicine prescribing abilities for practitioners covered by these rules, as the “Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilites” remains in effect until December 31, 2025.
Categories: TELEHEALTH
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