In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) granted temporary exceptions under the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 (“the Ryan Haight Act”) allowing healthcare providers to prescribe controlled medications via telemedicine without requiring in-person medical examinations. As discussed in our May 2023 blog post “ Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescriptions of Controlled Medications ,” the DEA, together with the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), issued a temporary rule titled “Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications” (“First Temporary Rule”), which not only extended the full set of Public Health Emergency (“PHE”) telemedicine flexibilities and allowed controlled substances to be prescribed for new patients without an initial in-person examination through Nov. 11, 2023, but also created a 1 year grace period extending these flexibilities through Nov.
11, 2024, for any practitioner-patient telemedicine relationship established on or before Nov. 11, 2023. As discussed in our October 2023 blog post , the DEA and HHS issued a further extension, pursuant to 21 U.
S.C. § 802(54)(G), titled “ Further Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescriptions of Controlled Medications ” (“ Second Temporary Rule ”).
The Second Temporary Rule, effect.