Telemedicine Prescribing by US Mental Health Care Providers: National Cross-Sectional Survey.
JMIR formative research March 11, 2025 Mollie R Cummins, Julia Ivanova, Hiral Soni et al. 3 citations
In the postpandemic era, telemental health providers report high comfort prescribing via telemedicine, with 84% strongly agreeing they are comfortable prescribing medications. However, comfort decreases for patients never seen in person or located out-of-state. Most providers believe they can safely prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine without prior in-person care, though 14.8% to 19.1% (by schedule) feel they can rarely or never do so safely. Perceived safety is lowest for schedule IV medications and highest for schedules II and III. Differences in comfort and safety perceptions exist by licensure type and specialty. Providers use adaptive strategies to ensure safe prescribing based on clinical context.