Governor’s Executive Order on Telemedicine Expires

BREAKING NEWS

Floridians’ access to telehealth could suffer as state order expires.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article252429913.html

Effective immediately, controlled substances may only be prescribed through an in-person examination, with the only exceptions being hospice/nursing home and psychiatric patients.

Below was the prior Amended Rule as per the Florida Board of Medicine website under the Florida Telemedicine practice rule.

Effective March 7, 2016, the Board of Medicine’s revised Telemedicine Rule, Rule 64B8-9.0141, F.A.C., went into effect. The amended rule reads:

(4) Controlled substances shall not be prescribed through the use of telemedicine except for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. This provision does not preclude physicians from ordering controlled substances through the use of telemedicine for patients hospitalized in a facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 395, F.S.

The Rule was Suspended during the pandemic via the Governor’s Executive Order declaring a state of emergency 20-52, to allow prescribing of controlled substances with a Telemedicine visit.

The Governor’s Order EXPIRED on Saturday June 26, 2021.

When Governor DeSantis opted not to renew the State of Emergency Declaration this past weekend, the special rules that allowed for the prescribing of controlled substances to existing patients through telehealth also expired.

Shawn Foster
Executive Director
Florida Academy of Pain Medicine

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