Continuity of Care via Telemedicine for Veterans Affairs Patients
Published Date: 1/17/2025
Rule
Summary
Starting February 18, 2025, VA doctors can prescribe controlled medicines through telemedicine even if they haven’t met the patient in person, as long as another VA doctor has done an in-person check before. This makes it easier and faster for veterans to get their meds without extra trips. Doctors must check the patient’s VA records and state prescription databases first to keep things safe and sound.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
VA Telemedicine Prescribing Authorized
Starting February 18, 2025, VA practitioners acting within their VA employment can prescribe controlled substances by telemedicine to a VA patient even if the prescribing practitioner has not met the patient in person, so long as another VA practitioner has previously done an in-person medical evaluation of that patient. This authority covers controlled substances in schedules II through V when the conditions in the rule are met.
Mandatory EHR and PDMP Checks; 7-Day Limit
Before issuing a prescription via telemedicine for a schedule II–V controlled substance, the VA prescribing practitioner must review the patient's VA electronic health record (including the VA internal prescription database) and the state prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) for the state where the patient is located (if the state has a PDMP). If either the VA EHR or the state PDMP is unavailable or non-operational, the practitioner may limit the initial telemedicine prescription to a 7-day supply and must later review both the VA EHR and the PDMP before continuing to prescribe via telemedicine.
Rule Excludes Contracted and Disability Evaluations
This final rule does not apply to contracted practitioners located outside a VA facility or clinic who provide care via the Community Care Network (CCN), nor does it apply to practitioners conducting disability compensation evaluations. Those practitioners are not authorized under this rule to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine under the VA-specific authority described here.
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