The Ohio State Medical Board has proposed new telehealth prescribing regulations, which are predicated upon whether the drug is a controlled or not a controlled substance.

Non-Controlled Substances

For non-controlled substances, physicians may prescribe or dispense medication to a person on whom the physician has never previously conducted a medical evaluation only if the physician completes and document a medical evaluation and collects a relevant clinical history that “conforms to minimal standards of care consistent with an evaluation that was completed in a face-to-face interaction” using real time telehealth technology.

Controlled Substances

For controlled substances, physicians may dispense or prescribe only in the following situations:

  1. On-call or cross coverage arrangements with another physician.
  2. Consulting with another physician or healthcare provider.
  3. As a medical director or hospice physician to a patient enrolled in hospice program.
  4. Persons for in-patients or residents of institutional facilities.