Telehealth consultation with a female patient using headphones and laptop.

DEA Special Registration for Telemedicine: What Providers Need to Do Before December 2026

The telemedicine cliff got pushed back again. The DEA’s Fourth Temporary Extension keeps current prescribing rules in place through December 31, 2026. But that date isn’t as far off as it sounds, and treating it that way is a mistake. What can you actually do right now? You can prescribe Schedule II–V controlled substances through…

Chalkboard map of the United States with chalk and pins.

Will the December 2026 Telehealth Prescribing Deadline Catch Your Platform Off Guard?

Telehealth platforms that prescribe controlled substances need to focus on December 31, 2026 — not the unfinalized “Special Registration” rule everyone’s been waiting on. And federal flexibility isn’t the whole picture: some states are already moving faster than the DEA. What Is the December 2026 Telehealth Prescribing Deadline? It’s the expiration date of the DEA’s…

Healthcare professional using calculator and notebook for telehealth financial planning.

CMS Telehealth Reimbursement Changes for 2026: What Every Provider Needs to Know

Yes, but the headline change isn’t really a CMS decision at all. It’s that Congress let Medicare telehealth coverage lapse twice in the past nine months before finally locking in a genuine multi-year extension. If you missed either lapse, here’s what actually happened and where things stand now. What Actually Happened to Medicare Telehealth Coverage…

Woman lying on sofa during telehealth medical consultation at home.

Telehealth and Mental Health Prescribing: What the Latest DEA Rules Mean for Psychiatry Platforms

Yes, but the rule that actually matters most for psychiatry platforms hasn’t taken effect yet. DEA’s pending Special Registration proposal would give psychiatrists a path that generalist telehealth platforms wouldn’t get, and that’s a meaningful competitive detail worth understanding now, before it’s final. What’s Actually in Effect Right Now for Psychiatric Telehealth Prescribing? The operative…

Business team discussing telehealth marketing strategies with charts and laptops.

FTC and Telehealth Marketing: The Compliance Rules Most Providers Ignore

The rule you’ve probably heard about, “Click-to-Cancel,” is dead. A federal court struck it down. But that’s not the same as telehealth subscription marketing being unregulated, and there’s a separate FTC rule with real penalties already attached that most providers have never heard of at all. Is the FTC’s “Click-to-Cancel” Rule Actually in Effect? No….

Medication bottles with pills and tablets in gloved hands for telehealth medication management.

Compounding Pharmacy and Telehealth: What Providers Need to Know About the DEA Rules

DEA’s compounding rules aren’t really about whether a pharmacy can compound a controlled substance. They’re about who’s doing it, how much, and whether the volume crosses from individualized dispensing into something that looks more like unregistered manufacturing. What Does DEA Actually Allow a Pharmacy to Compound? Under DEA’s compounding policy, a registered pharmacy can compound…

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HIPAA and Telehealth in 2026: What Remote Providers Are Still Getting Wrong

The COVID-era HIPAA exemption for telehealth ended back in 2023, but a lot of providers are still operating like it’s in effect. Most of what OCR is actually finding isn’t exotic. It’s basic gaps that built up once nobody was paying close attention anymore. Why Can’t You Still Use FaceTime or Regular Zoom for Sessions?…

Telehealth doctor consultation with a female patient via laptop and headset.

State Telehealth Prescribing Laws: What Federal Rules Don’t Cover

Federal DEA and HHS telemedicine rules set a floor, not a ceiling. Most of what actually trips providers up isn’t federal at all, it’s the state-level layer sitting on top that federal rules were never designed to touch. What Do Federal Rules Actually Cover? The Ryan Haight Act and DEA’s telemedicine exceptions, including the current…