The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have extended the TeleHealth flexibilities granted during the Covid-19 public health emergency for an additional six months. This news of an extension is a relief to virtual healthcare providers after the DEA had previously proposed more restrictive prescribing laws earlier this year. 

Under this extension, any patient-provider relationships established by November 11, 2023, will be given extended access to all TeleHealth flexibilities provided under the Covid-19 public health emergency for a period of one additional year.

Companies and organizations such as Bicycle Health , Mindbloom , The American Academy of Family Physicians, and Array Behavioral Care have all spoken out in support of this extension as they note their member populations could face severely adverse effects due to their access to prescribed medications being limited by the DEA’s previous proposal of prescribing laws. 

Analyst QuickTake: The extension was granted to reassess the proposed regulations announced in February, which received an unprecedented 38,000 comments. While the DEA intends to release guidelines for the online prescribing of controlled medications, delays in establishing a remote prescriber registration process (since 2008) and finalizing amendments to the Controlled Substances Act (since January 2023) make it unclear when these guidelines will be finalized.