US plans to limit remote drug prescribing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Joe Biden administration plans to require patients to see a doctor in person before receiving drugs for attention deficit disorders or potentially addictive painkillers, tightening access to drugs in a context crisis of opioid addiction.

The proposal could reshape how millions of Americans get medicine after three years of relying on telemedicine during the pandemic.

The DEA said Friday it plans to reinstate old federal requirements for potent drugs that were suspended after COVID-19 arrived, allowing doctors to prescribe millions of drugs like OxyContin or Adderall without having to meet patients in person.

Patients will need to see a doctor in person at least once to get an initial prescription for drugs that the federal government says have the greatest potential for abuse, such as Vicodin, OxyContin, Adderall and Ritalin. Medications could be re-prescribed via remote medical appointments.

The agency will also tighten rules on how doctors can prescribe other, less addictive drugs to patients they have never physically seen. Substances such as codeine, which is taken to relieve pain or cough; Xanax, used to treat anxiety; Ambien, a sleeping pill; and buprenorphine, a narcotic used to treat opioid addiction, can be prescribed remotely for an initial dose of 30 days. Patients will need to visit the doctor at least once in person to refill their prescription.

Patients will still be able to get prescriptions for common medications, such as antibiotics, skin creams, contraceptives and insulin, through remote consultations.