On December 31, 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, issued a fourth temporary extension of COVID-era telemedicine prescribing flexibilities.
This extension allows DEA-registered clinicians to continue prescribing Schedule II–V controlled substances via telemedicine — without requiring an initial in-person visit — through December 31, 2026, provided all other federal and state requirements are met.
Importantly, the rule does not introduce new requirements or restrictions. Instead, it preserves existing flexibilities to prevent disruptions in care while the DEA continues work on permanent telemedicine prescribing regulations.
If you’d like to review the full announcement and regulatory language, the complete rule is available here.
A moment of reassurance for patients and clinicians alike
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s recent decision to extend telemedicine prescribing flexibilities through 2026 is welcome news for everyone involved — patients, clinicians, and the organizations that support them.
At Iris, we recognize this extension not as a change in direction, but as a continuation of what has already become essential to modern behavioral health care. It allows patients to remain connected to the clinicians they’ve come to rely on, and it allows those same clinicians to continue practicing without disruption or uncertainty.
It preserves continuity. In behavioral health, consistency matters. Treatment is built on trust, routine, and follow-through — and when those are interrupted, patients feel it immediately. This extension helps ensure care can continue without pause, at a time when demand for behavioral health services remains high and access remains uneven.
For the patients we serve and the providers who care for them, that stability matters deeply.
Access to telehealth is access to care
In its announcement, the DEA acknowledged something patients and clinicians have known for years: telemedicine is no longer a fringe option — it is a core part of how care is delivered today.
The agency pointed to the prevalence of teleprescribing across the country, as well as to the sharp drop in telemedicine visits that occurred when other pandemic-era flexibilities temporarily expired. Those numbers tell an important story. When access to telehealth is reduced, access to care is reduced with it — often quickly and for the patients who can least afford interruption.
This is especially true in behavioral health and psychiatry. Missed appointments, delayed follow-ups, and gaps in medication management are not abstract inconveniences. They can slow progress, increase risk, and place additional strain on patients who are already navigating complex challenges.
By extending these flexibilities, the DEA is recognizing that maintaining access to telehealth is not simply a matter of convenience. It’s a matter of patient care. When we protect access, we protect continuity. And when continuity is preserved, patients are better positioned to stay engaged, supported, and on a path toward stability.
Telepsychiatry isn’t a workaround — it’s how modern care is delivered
For many years, telepsychiatry was framed as an alternative: something temporary, supplemental, or reserved for moments of necessity. That framing no longer reflects reality.
Today, telepsychiatry is simply one of the ways high-quality behavioral health care is delivered. It allows clinicians to reach patients where they are, reduces unnecessary barriers to access, and supports continuity in ways that traditional models alone often cannot.
At Iris, we don’t think of ourselves as a telebehavioral health organization. We are a behavioral health organization, focused on clinical excellence, patient outcomes, and thoughtful collaboration with our partners. Telecare is simply the modality that allows us to deliver that care more reliably, more equitably, and more consistently.
The DEA’s language in this latest extension reflects a growing recognition of that reality. Telemedicine prescribing is no longer treated as an exception that requires constant justification. Instead, it is acknowledged as part of the modern healthcare landscape that can be responsibly governed while still meeting the needs of patients and providers.
What stability means for patients and clinicians
Stability in healthcare systems often goes unnoticed until it’s missing. In behavioral health, its absence can be especially disruptive.
For patients, stability means knowing that care will continue. It means being able to trust that follow-up appointments will happen, treatment plans won’t be interrupted, and progress won’t be lost because of external uncertainty. That sense of reliability supports engagement, adherence, and confidence — all essential components of effective behavioral health care.
For clinicians, stability creates space to focus on what matters most: caring for patients. When the rules governing care delivery are clear and consistent, clinicians can practice with confidence, build meaningful therapeutic relationships, and take pride in the quality of care they provide.
This extension reinforces that steadiness. It allows patients and clinicians to move forward without disruption, and it affirms that the care being delivered today is not provisional. It is trusted, established, and here to stay.
What this means for Iris and our partners
At Iris, this extension reinforces something we’ve long believed — that high-quality behavioral health care depends on consistency, collaboration, and trust.
We’re proud of the clinicians who show up every day to deliver compassionate, evidence-based care to patients across a wide range of communities and care settings. We’re equally grateful for the partners we work alongside, who share a commitment to making behavioral health services accessible and responsive to patient needs.
This period of stability allows patients, clinicians, and care teams to focus on what truly matters: delivering care that is thoughtful, effective, and patient-centered. It supports long-term planning, sustained relationships, and continued investment in the people and processes that make high-quality behavioral health care possible.
Moving forward with confidence and purpose
The DEA’s fourth extension provides reassurance, not because it introduces something new, but because it affirms what is already working.
Behavioral health care has evolved, and the systems that support it are evolving as well. This decision reflects a growing understanding that access, continuity, and quality must move together, and that modern care models can be both effective and responsibly governed.
As permanent frameworks continue to take shape, we remain confident in the path ahead. Not because of policy timelines, but because of the patients who depend on care, the clinicians who deliver it, and the outcomes we see every day when access is preserved and care is uninterrupted.
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Learn how Iris supports high-quality behavioral health care across a range of settings. Connect with one of our partnership directors.
