Marika Miller Assesses DEA Special Registrations for Telehealth

Foley & Lardner LLP attorney Marika Miller commented in the TechTarget article, “What DEA’s special registrations mean for telehealth prescribing,” describing the intent and potential ramifications of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s proposed rule for the telehealth industry.

Miller said the handover in presidential administration likely prompted the agency to release the proposal. “They were worried that anything that they had on the shelf was just going to get permanently kept on the shelf, and it would never see light of day,” she explained. “And so they wanted to push out as much as they could…They really wanted to get the conversation started on the special registration process. I think they knew it wasn’t perfect.”

Miller addressed several challenges the proposed special registrations framework present for telehealth providers and patients, saying the additional administrative burdens and costs are “completely unworkable” for fully remote prescribers and platforms.

She noted that the proposed rule will probably see several changes before it is finalized and described an uncertain timeline ahead as the new administration addresses other priorities.

“It’s just such a question mark of what the outlook of this registration process will look like because there’s potential that this just never happens again, that we saw this here, and then it just remains on hold for years – somebody has to push it forward,” Miller added.