The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said Wednesday that the decision to allow continued virtual prescribing was informed by a “record 38,000 comments on its proposed telemedicine rules.”

These proposed rules, announced back in February, would allow providers to prescribe patients a 30-day supply of “Schedule III-V non-narcotic controlled medications” as well as buprenorphine, a treatment for opioid use disorder, without requiring an in-person visit.

The DEA expanded telehealth flexibilities shortly after the pandemic began in order to ensure patients were still able to access care despite lockdown. These flexibilities applied to all schedule II-V controlled substances.

When the agency announced its proposed rules to make the telehealth flexibilities permanent, however, schedule II controlled substances were left out. These include medications like Adderall and Ritalin.

After three years of being able to obtain these medications without the need of an in-person visit, stakeholder groups spoke out against the DEA’s decision to omit schedule II drugs.

The American Telemedicine Association, a nonprofit which promotes telemedicine, argued the DEA’s proposed rules were “significantly more restrictive than is warranted” when they were first announced.

Proponents for bringing back in-person requirements have argued that seeing providers face-to-face could help prevent substance abuse.

The decision by the DEA on Wednesday gives the agency more time to consider what changes to telehealth care it will enact going forward.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.