Indiana’s relaxed telemedicine rules went into effect July 1.  Generally, under the new rules a prescriber (defined as a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice nurse, optometrist, or podiatrist) may prescribe non-controlled drugs by telemedicine without an in-person exam, with the exception of abortion-inducing drugs and eyeglasses and other vision devices, if the prescriber has established a provider-patient relationship with the individual for whom the prescription is written.

Generally, a prescriber may provide controlled substances other than opioids via telemedicine if the prescriber has a controlled substance registration and the patient has undergone an in-person exam by an Indiana-licensed provider who has established a treatment plan to assist the prescriber in diagnosing the patient.

A prescriber may prescribe an opioid via telemedicine if the opioid is a partial agonist (that is, one that produces endorphins in the user but to a much lesser extent than a full agonist) used for treatment or management of opioid dependency and the prescriber meets the requirements for prescribing other controlled substances.

These and other requirements are reflected in Indiana Code 12-15-5 and 25-1-9.5, as amended effective July 1.  Prescribers should review those provisions closely before relying on this general description of the rules.