Addiction Treatment Access: Controlled Medications Available After Telehealth Evaluation
This act improves access to addiction treatment by allowing practitioners to prescribe certain controlled medications (used for substance use disorders) following a remote telehealth evaluation. This change removes the mandatory initial in-person medical evaluation requirement for these specific treatments. The goal is to significantly increase access to care, especially for individuals facing geographical barriers.
Key points
Allows prescribing controlled substances (Schedule III, IV, or V) approved for substance use disorder treatment after a single telehealth evaluation.
The telehealth evaluation must be a real-time, two-way interactive communication, potentially using audio-only or audio and video systems.
Eliminates the requirement for an initial in-person visit for patients starting medication-assisted treatment for addiction.
Introduced
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