Source: NPR
When COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency more than three years ago, it signaled the beginning of huge change for the health care industry.
That was especially true for telehealth.
Under relaxed regulations, patients could more easily connect by phone or Zoom to doctors many miles away, or get prescriptions from a specialist to treat conditions like ADHD or opioid use disorder.
The federal declaration — and the pandemic policies tied to it — officially ends on Thursday, but patients may not see any big changes in the care they receive via telehealth, at least not yet.
Federal policymakers are allowing these more expansive telehealth services to remain in place temporarily, thanks in part to a last-minute about-face by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
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