 Health Care |
Health Care |
|
|
DEA temporarily extends virtual prescribing for controlled substances
|
The Biden administration is temporarily extending flexibilities for prescribing controlled substances via telehealth that were adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said Wednesday that the decision to allow continued virtual prescribing was informed by a "record 38,000 comments on its proposed telemedicine rules." These proposed rules, announced back in February, would allow providers to prescribe patients a 30-day supply of "Schedule III-V non-narcotic controlled medications" as well as buprenorphine, a treatment for opioid use disorder, without requiring an in-person visit. The DEA expanded telehealth flexibilities shortly after the pandemic began in order to ensure patients were still able to access care despite lockdown. These flexibilities applied to all schedule II-V controlled substances. When the agency announced its proposed rules to make the telehealth flexibilities permanent, however, schedule II controlled substances were left out. These include medications like Adderall and Ritalin. After three years of being able to obtain these medications without the need of an in-person visit, stakeholder groups spoke out against the DEA's decision to omit schedule II drugs. The American Telemedicine Association, a nonprofit which promotes telemedicine, argued the DEA's proposed rules were "significantly more restrictive than is warranted" when they were first announced.
Proponents for bringing back in-person requirements have argued that seeing providers face-to-face could help prevent substance abuse.
The decision by the DEA on Wednesday gives the agency more time to consider what changes to telehealth care it will enact going forward. |
Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. | |
|
How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
|
|
Federal regulators gave the green light to the first-ever vaccine to prevent the respiratory disease RSV on Wednesday, a major breakthrough that’s been decades in the making. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Arexvy, a shot developed by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to prevent lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in adults aged 60 and older. The development marks a significant turning … |
| |
| Drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl more than tripled from 2016 to 2021 in the United States, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new CDC data from the Vital Statistics Rapid Release Program showed that drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl jumped from 5.7 per 100,000 standard population in 2016 to 21.6 in 2021. Between 2020 and 2021, drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl … |
| |
| North Carolina Republicans unveiled a proposal that would ban abortion in the state after 12 weeks of pregnancy. State Senate leader Phil Berger (R) announced in a statement Tuesday that House and Senate Republicans in the General Assembly have come to an agreement on restrictions that would ban most abortions at 12 weeks. The bill would allow exceptions for rape and incest through 20 weeks and would allow exceptions for fetal … |
| |
|
Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: |
- A Senate appropriations panel examines the White House budget request for NIH on Thursday, but the administration's reported pick to run the agency won't be testifying.
- An FDA advisory panel will meet May 9-10 to discuss over-the-counter birth control pills.
- The Senate HELP Committee rescheduled its markup of PBM reform and generic drug bills to May 11.
|
|
|
Expanding Access to Alzheimer's Care & Treatment, May 11, 2-4 p.m. ET About 1 in 9 Americans over 65 suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, treatment options are still limited. Why is CMS declining coverage, and where are we in terms of new treatments on the horizon? The Hill brings together Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.); Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) and Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.); along with researchers, doctors, caregivers and patients to explore the latest treatments and roadblocks and discuss what more needs to be done. |
|
|
Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
|
|
Eli Lilly Alzheimer's treatment slows cognitive decline in trial, company says |
An experimental treatment from Eli Lilly significantly slowed cognitive and functional decline in people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease in a large clinical trial, the company announced Wednesday, a promising sign for a new category of Alzheimer’s treatments. During the 18-month study of nearly 1,700 people, donanemab slowed patients' rate of decline in memory and ability to perform daily activities by … |
|
|
Local and state headlines on health care: |
- More people will die': Triangle doctors reel over proposed 12-week abortion ban (Raleigh News & Observer)
- Newsom breaks deal to lower price of health insurance. Lawmakers move to hold him to it (Cal Matters)
|
|
|
Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- For Black Americans, the pandemic spike in fentanyl deaths was decades in the making (Politico)
- States threaten crackdown on copycat versions of Ozempic and Wegovy (NBC News)
- Federal rules don't require period product ingredients on packaging labels. States are stepping in (KFF Health News)
|
|
|
Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
|
|
CORRECTION: Former President Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 charges. Former President Trump reportedly grabbed a reporter’s phone and tried to … Read more |
| Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) are demanding a document from the FBI they say outlines an unverified … Read more |
|
|
Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: |
|
|
You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 |
Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
|
If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe.
No comments:
Post a Comment