When the Georgia medical board in December suddenly reimposed its old rules effective Jan. 1, prescribers erupted in confusion over what exactly the old rules allowed when it comes to distant patients who take prescriptions that might renew every month. Some doctors said they would have to stop seeing virtual patients for controlled drugs altogether until the board clarified what was legal.
Now, psychiatrists and other doctors who prescribe drugs via virtual patient visits, can continue to do so, even if they’ve never met the patient in person.
Board Chairman Dr. William Bostock said the board wants to protect patient health while making sure that health care practices have clear, legal rules to follow. A long, careful review of Georgia law concerning teleprescribing found language that was vague or inadvertently contradictory, Bostock said.
“Out of fairness to all parties involved, we’re going to go ahead and rescind our board order that was supposed to take effect May 1,” he said. “The telehealth industry is continuing to evolve. Obviously, it has a part in the delivery of health care for not only citizens of Georgia, but really for the entire nation. And I think our responsibility is to safeguard the public and make sure that we follow what is necessary to that end.”
The board still intends to make changes to telehealth prescribing guidelines, and those may come in January. The board has said it plans to give several months for the public and interest groups to review the proposed rules and chime in with any concerns before changes are made.
The issue arose because the federal government is having its own struggles figuring out how to regulate the booming field of virtual prescribing. Virtual prescribing was always regulated in theory, but only during the pandemic did the practice really take off with appointments on platforms that are the medically secure equivalent…
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