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