Marika Miller Shares Insight on DEA's Proposed Special Registration for Telehealth Providers of Controlled Substances
Foley & Lardner LLP attorney Marika Miller shared insight on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) proposed special registration process for health care providers prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine in MedPage Today and STAT.
“I was not expecting the DEA to dust off their highly criticized rules from March 2023 and release revised versions, but I am not surprised they did,” Miller commented in MedPage Today. “Had the rules not been published before January 20th, they were likely to have been abandoned by the incoming Trump administration.”
She added that the industry has “been waiting for a special registration process for more than 15 years, but what has been proposed does not live up to stakeholders’ expectations. We anticipate the industry will urge the DEA for a re-write, which will take some time.”
Miller also highlighted that the DEA’s recently issued final buprenorphine rule introduced restrictions like a nationwide prescription drug monitoring program review and a six-month initial supply for prescribing the medication via telemedicine. “With the proposed special registration process unlikely to be finalized this year, maintaining DEA telemedicine flexibilities will be crucial for continued buprenorphine prescriptions via telemedicine,” she explained. “There is too much uncertainty about what the Trump administration will prioritize over the next four years to know if the final buprenorphine rule will stick.”
In STAT, Miller emphasized that the DEA is moving on these rules now not because they are prepared for implementation, but to keep them on the radar of the incoming presidential administration.
“The long-awaited special registration process falls flat with stakeholders, and it is anticipated that the associated rule will undergo yet another round of notice-and-comment rulemaking,” Miller said. “Among other concerns, a key issue for stakeholders with both rules is the nationwide prescription drug monitoring program check requirement, a burden the DEA still appears to underestimate.”
Miller’s commentary also appeared in healthleaders.