A couple updates on medications and telehealth:
- Paxlovid is EUA FDA approved, and many patients are asking for this. If you want a good overview of this medication, start here. https://combatcovid.hhs.gov/what-are-oral-antivirals
I have also attached the Baptist Health guidelines with list of interactions and patient education. Here are two very important facts to consider. Anyone with renal or hepatic insufficiency or disease should be excluded. Also, there are a large number of drug-drug interactions. Do not prescribe this without checking for contraindications and performing a complete med reconciliation (including OTC supplements).
Finally, although this medication is EUA approved for ages 12 and up, Telescope Health’s policy is to prescribe to adults (18 and up) only. Pediatric testing is limited at best. If you see a child with underlying medical conditions who is at risk, use care coordination to get them into their Pediatrician or Wolfson’s ED, if necessary.
If you do want to prescribe, the list of pharmacies that carry Paxlovid is also attached.
- In July, a new Florida law will go into effect allowing telehealth providers to prescribe controlled substances for certain conditions. At this time, Telescope Health will still maintain our policy of not prescribing any controlled scheduled drugs. To give some context, a large telehealth company called Cerebral is under Federal investigation for its prescribing patterns of Adderall and other controlled substances by psychiatrists and behavioral health specialists. The pandemic has made telehealth restrictions very relaxed over the past 2 years, but we are now seeing a reactive swing in the opposite direction because of some of these companies.
As always, reach out with any questions. My cell is below. Thanks again for all your great patient care!
Matty T
913-220-1271
Matthew Thompson, MD
Co-Founder, COO
Telescope Health
