The DEA's proposed rule would restrict the ability of doctors virtually to prescribe medications such as Adderall and opioids, requiring in-person doctor's visits for controlled substances. However, after receiving 38,000 comments from the public, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram decided to delay the rule.
"As the mental health crisis in America continues to worsen — with nearly 1 in 4 adults suffering from mental illness in the past year and less than 50% receiving treatment — the federal government must expand access to clinically-appropriate treatments and commit to supporting telehealth so that individuals suffering from depression, anxiety, and other conditions can access evidence-based treatment options, like ketamine therapy, that work well for them," Mindbloom general counsel...
Online prescribers and telehealth advocates have been critical of the move, citing the restriction's effect on drugs such as buprenorphine, which is often prescribed to help with opioid addiction, and online psychiatry.