Editor's Note: We updated the story to avoid confusion.
Telehealth startup Done has a similar fate with Cerebral as DEA investigates them for prescribing ADHD medication. Done said in a statement that it is willing to comply.
As part of the ongoing crackdown on mental health companies that prescribe controlled substances that contain stimulants like Adderall and addictive painkillers like OxyContin through telemedicine, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating telehealth startup Done, a telehealth startup that prescribes ADHD medication like Adderall.
DEA Goes After Telehealth Companies
According to The Wall Street Journal, the DEA's investigation of Done and Cerebral is part of the agency's ongoing crackdown on mental health companies using telemedicine to prescribe substances such as Adderall and OxyContin.
Done told The Wall Street Journal that it had not had any direct contact from the DEA, but it said they are willing to comply with all applicable laws and regulations needed for the investigation.
DEA's investigation of Cerebral is due to its prescribing practices. Back in May, the company announced it would stop prescribing drugs in the category that includes stimulants like Adderall and addictive painkillers OxyContin.
Also Read: OxyContin's 12-Hour Dosing May Up Drug Abuse Risk: How To Recognize And Prevent Opioid Addiction
How Has The Pandemic Opened Opportunity to Telemedicine Companies?
Before the COVID-19 pandemic - when restrictions had not been lifted - patients needed to see doctors in person to prescribe controlled substances. However, some rules have been changed because of the COVID-19 public health emergency. With that, telehealth companies found an opportunity to exist.
During the pandemic, TikTok has risen its popularity, and these companies used this platform to advertise. Many ad contents suggest
it was easy to get a diagnosis and medication for conditions like ADHD. Some clinicians working on telemedicine platforms were worried about making the controlled substances too accessible. They also felt pressured to prescribe the medications to the patients despite the fact that some medications require thorough doctors' checkups before prescribing.
Doctors Express Their Concern
According to The Verge, the rise of the telehealth industry made some doctors worried. One of the concerns is patients losing a tool to treat addiction. Also, by making the controlled substance too accessible through telemedicine, it may open an opportunity for doctors to distribute medications for opioid-use disorder.
"It's very easy for these things to kind of get grouped together in people's minds and then also in policy," Shoshana Aronowitz, a health services researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, told The Verge. Aronowitz is a family nurse practitioner, community-engaged health services researcher, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Health at Penn Nursing. She provides substance-use disorder treatment in Philadelphia.
Connection to Opioid Addiction
Opioid overdoses have reached epidemic proportions in the US, with thousands of people dying yearly. This has prompted the DEA to investigate telehealth companies to see if they've followed the proper procedures for prescribing controlled substances to patients.
Despite the backlash, a recent study shows that telehealth companies helped lower opioid overdoses in the United States.
According to Politico, telehealth companies encouraged people struggling with opioid addiction to stay in treatment longer, lowering their risk of dying from an overdose.
The study was published online on Aug. 31 in JAMA Psychiatry. The researchers recorded 176,000 Medicare beneficiaries from 2018 to 2021.
The analysis looked at telehealth services, medications for opioid use disorder, and treated overdoses among patients starting a new round of care before the COVID-19 pandemic happened compared to those during the pandemic.
It shows that patients in the pandemic group were more likely to receive telehealth services and were more likely to receive medications for opioid addiction.
It is unclear if telehealth companies will still be allowed to continue their operations now that the COVID-19 restrictions have eased up.
The latest move from the DEA, which is responsible for the regulations of controlled substances, shows that the agency is still scrutinizing the telehealth industry.
Related Article: New York Senate Outlines Plan To Combat Heroin, Opioid Abuse
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Written by Sophie Webster
