DEA Issues 3 New Telemedicine Rules to Maintain Increased Accessibility

In mid-January, the DEA issued three new telemedicine rules (available here, here, and here) to make permanent some of the temporary telemedicine flexibilities created during the COVID-19 public health emergency while also instilling new patient protections. Such patient protections include establishing a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) to aid the healthcare industry in protecting against abuse and the diversion of controlled substances into the ever-looming threat of the illegal drug market.