In ATA, stakeholders get a say in the DEA’s proposed remote prescribing rule.

At a special hearing this morning at the American Telemedicine Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition, stakeholders were asked to voice their concerns about the DEA’s controversial rule.

The DEA proposal would remove the ability of telemedicine to prescribe controlled substances if the patient has never had a personal exam, which was a centerpiece of waivers allowed under the public health emergency.

The ATA said requiring patients who started telemedicine treatment during the pandemic to visit a provider to get prescriptions is overly restrictive and could be harmful.

The proposed rule was expected to be a big topic for those attending the ATA2023 annual conference and expo from March 4-6 in San Antonio, Texas.

On Monday from 7 am to 8 am, Kyle Zebley, senior vice president of public policy for the ATA, was scheduled to moderate the special hearing. Representative from
The DEA was invited onto the scene, according to Attorney Nathaniel Lacktman, chairman of the National Telemedicine and Digital Health Industry Group Foley and Lardner, who sits on the ATA board of directors.

Much of the DEA’s content in the proposed rule serves as a bridge between waivers and the post-waiver world, Lacktman said. While the DEA is proposing to make permanent flexibilities allowed during a public health emergency, the personal assignment rule is more restrictive than necessary, he said.

“I believe they will pretty much follow this established rubric, but will likely make changes,” Laktman said. “They understand the need to keep patients from falling off the telemedicine cliff.”

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT

One issue is the Ryan Haight Act of 2008, which states that if controlled substances are prescribed over the Internet, the general requirement is that the prescribing physician must conduct at least one personal medical examination of the patient.

According to Foley & Lardner, the Act provides seven exemptions for telemedicine from the in-person exam requirements, but they are narrow and do not reflect current conventional remote prescribing practices in clinical telemedicine.

According to Lacktman, Ryan Haight’s law was initiated because opioids were sold online rather than via telemedicine. A law was passed to abolish illegal subscriptions.

“The fact remains that the proposed rule adds additional fields for validation,” Laktman said. “It has the same net effect of confusing legitimate (prescribers). The law affects only those who care about its observance.

BIG TREND

On Friday, February 24, the DEA released a proposed rule for permanent telemedicine flexibilities, specifically proposing permanent rules for prescribing controlled drugs via telemedicine after the end of the public health emergency.

Public comment is open for 30 days.

The public health emergency is due to end on May 11.

A $1.7 trillion cumulative spending law passed in December 2022 extends telemedicine flexibility through the end of 2024. PHE.

The American Hospital Association said last month it supported a bipartisan bill introduced in the House of Representatives that would require the Department of Health and Human Services, the Medicare Payments Advisory Commission, and the Medicaid and CHIP Payments and Access Commissions to explore expanded use of telemedicine during the pandemic. . of the COVID-19 pandemic and recommend potential improvements in access to and quality of telemedicine.

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
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J. Tod Fetherling will go into more detail during his HIMSS23 session “Using AI to Predict Lung Cancer”. It will take place on Thursday, April 20 at 13:00-14:00 PT in the South Building in room S103.