Earlier this week, the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana (MLB) updated its website to include additional guidance about prescribing controlled substances through telemedicine during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

More specifically, the guidance provides that, under Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Executive Order 20-13, “a prescriber may prescribe a Schedule II-V controlled substance via telemedicine as long as the following conditions are met:

1. The prescription is issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a prescriber acting in their usual professional practice;
2. The initial telecommunication is conducted using an audio-visual, real-time, two-way interactive communication system; and
3. All other applicable state and federal laws are followed.”

The guidance also provides that “[o]nce a prescriber has conducted an in-person medical evaluation using an audio-visual, real-time, two-way interactive communication system for the initial prescription[,] further health consultation may be done via audio-only or audio-visual telecommunication, as long as all other applicable state and federal laws are followed.”

The ISMA is seeking clarification on whether this means the four-month or two-month “face to face” patient visits required under the Opioid Prescribing Rule (844 IAC 5-6-6) can be met by conducting an audio-only or audio-visual consultation with a patient for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. We will provide updates as additional information becomes available.

This and other COVID-19-related guidance from the MLB are collected on the MLB’s website.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also has helpful telemedicine resources available on its website, including a decision tree on prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine during the public health emergency. Those resources are available here.