“A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow for the use of telehealth in substance use disorder treatment, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section revises the definition of valid prescription for Internet-dispensed controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act to require, for the prescribing practitioner, at least one in-person medical evaluation or—for Schedule III, IV, or V substances approved by the FDA for substance use disorder treatment—one telehealth evaluation of the patient (previously, at least one in-person medical evaluation). (As background: These requirements implement the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, which generally prohibits online dispensing of prescription controlled substances without a valid prescription issued after an in-person exam.) It also defines telehealth evaluation as a remote medical evaluation, using two-way real-time interactive audio-only or audio-video telecommunications compliant with federal and state laws and Medicare telehealth standards, by a practitioner (other than a pharmacist) located away from the patient.