A Colorado doctor has been placed on indefinite probation by the state medical board for prescribing ivermectin to three of his patients for the treatment of COVID-19, allegedly without properly informing them of any risks, which the board defined as “unprofessional conduct.”
Dr. Scott Rollins, a family physician, has been licensed to practice medicine in Colorado since 1993, where he provided care to numerous patients during the pandemic.
In its December 2022 report (pdf), the Colorado Medical Board said Rollins prescribed ivermectin without performing an adequate clinical assessment and that he failed to discuss or document the discussion of the benefits and risks associated with the antiparasitic drug.
The medical board faulted Rollins for not discussing “the availability, risks, and benefits” of COVID-19 treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Finally, the board states that Rollins failed to document his discussions with the patients regarding the availability, risks, and benefits of FDA-approved vaccines to “prevent or mitigate the severity of COVID-19 infection” and did not document conversations with them regarding “other non-pharmaceutical measures to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 infection.”
Ivermectin is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat conditions caused by parasitic worms, but the administration says it should not be used against COVID-19, even though some of the studies cited by the agency actually support its use.
One such study, which has been peer-reviewed and was published on Aug. 31, 2022, in the Cuerus Journal of Medical Science, found that the mortality rate in people who used the medication regularly was 92 percent lower than in non-users and 84 percent lower than in irregular users.
A separate study published in February 2021, which has not been peer-reviewed, was conducted among 3,532 frontline health care workers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar. That study found that two doses of oral ivermectin (300 micrograms given 72 hours apart) as chemoprophylaxis among health care workers reduced the risk of COVID-19 infection by 83 percent in the following month.
Rollins’ medical license will be on indefinite probation until he complies with the “mutually negotiated” terms of the agreement laid out by the medical board, including his completion of the Center for Personalized Education for Physicians documentation seminar—which teaches physicians how to efficiently document patient care—as well as a six-month follow-up program.
He completed the initial seminar in September, according to the agreement.
The Epoch Times has contacted Rollins for comment.
In a similar case on Jan. 18, Washington state’s medical commission brought charges against Dr. Ryan Cole, a pathologist, alleging that he made “numerous false and misleading statements” during the COVID-19 pandemic about the pandemic, vaccines, ivermectin, and the effectiveness of protective masks and provided “negligent care” to four patients by prescribing ivermectin.
One of the allegedly “false and misleading” statements that Cole made that was referenced by the commission was that natural immunity gained from infection is superior against COVID-19 compared to the immunity granted by vaccines.
A study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed this was true.
Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.