When Alex Azar, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”), declared a national emergency on January 31, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he triggered an exception to the “in-person medical evaluation” requirement for online prescribing as set forth in the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 (the “Haight Act”).  In short, the Haight Act prohibits physicians and other prescribers from issuing a valid prescription for a controlled substance by means of the internet (which includes telehealth technologies) without having first conducted at least one in-person medical evaluation, except in certain specified circumstances.  A public health emergency is one such exception to the in-person medical examination requirement.
Continue Reading Telehealth and Online Prescribing: COVID-19 Triggers Changes to the Prescriber/Patient/Pharmacist Relationship