Sponsors (32)
The bill improves access to medication treatment for people with substance use disorder via telehealth—particularly for rural and transportation‑limited patients—while raising risks of diversion and adding regulatory and compliance burdens for states and providers.
People with substance use disorder — especially those in rural or transportation‑limited areas — can receive FDA‑approved Schedule III–V medications via audio or audio‑video telehealth without an extra in‑person visit, and clinicians may lawfully prescribe these treatments by telehealth when following federal and state law, expanding timely treatment access and overall treatment capacity.
Patients and the public could face an increased risk of diversion or misuse of Schedule III–V controlled substances due to expanded remote prescribing.
State and local governments will likely incur additional enforcement and regulatory burdens to ensure telehealth prescribing complies with varying federal and state requirements.
Clinicians may face new compliance procedures and technology needs for audio/video telehealth, imposing financial and operational costs on providers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows telehealth evaluations (including audio‑only) to satisfy the prior in‑person requirement for prescribing certain Schedule III–V drugs to treat substance use disorder and defines "telehealth evaluation."
Official title: To amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow for the use of telehealth in substance use disorder treatment, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 26, 2025 by Donald Norcross · Last progress February 26, 2025
Allows a clinician to satisfy the "in-person" evaluation requirement for prescriptions of FDA‑approved Schedule III–V controlled substances to treat substance use disorder by performing a defined telehealth evaluation (including audio-only or audio-and-video real‑time communication) so long as the practitioner follows applicable federal and state law. Also adds a statutory definition of “telehealth evaluation” that references the telecommunications systems described in Medicare law and clarifies the practitioner performing the evaluation cannot be a pharmacist.