Patients may have permanent access to some addiction treatments through telehealth

Washington – Patients may soon be able to obtain addiction treatments and medications through telehealth visits — without having to see a doctor in person.

The Biden administration unveiled new regulations aimed at increasing patient access to certain medications and addiction treatments, and the proposed rules from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced Friday, make permanent certain Trump-era allowances for medical providers to prescribe drugs through telehealth that were established at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the administration is re-implementing restrictions on other medicines that are more addictive. 

The move would permit medical providers on a permanent basis to prescribe non-narcotic drugs in one 30-day supply after a single telehealth visit. This is likely to go into effect days before Mr. Biden plans to end the public health emergency on May 11. The rules also carve out an exception for buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction.