Minnesota reprimands physician assistant for secret use of ivermectin to treat COVID

A Minnesota medical regulatory board has reprimanded a Twin Cities health care practitioner for providing a controversial form of COVID-19 care and failing to document it in patient records.

Physician assistant Matthew Trom did not record prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients "because of what he saw as an intense controversy" over its off-label use during the pandemic, according to his reprimand.

The state Board of Medical Practice issued the disciplinary action Nov. 18 and publicly released it Wednesday. Trom "viewed his actions as reasonable and within the standard of care at the time he wrote the prescriptions" in late 2021, when the delta COVID-19 wave was surging and causing record hospitalizations across Minnesota, according to the document.

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug that was promoted early in the pandemic as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Some practitioners, politicians and anti-vaccine advocates still championed it even after studies found no evidence that it helped.

University of Minnesota researchers had targeted it in spring 2020 as a drug worth study but published results in 2022 of a clinical trial showing no statistical evidence of benefit. Their research instead has consistently found that low-cost metformin helps in the treatment of COVID-19 and reduction of long COVID cases after infection.

Reached by phone Thursday, Trom did not immediately answer questions regarding his prescriptions or the agreement with the state board. The practitioner with Hudson Physicians was investigated after the board received three reports about his ivermectin prescriptions. He also is licensed in Wisconsin, which does not show a record of any current sanctions against him.

Trom is required under his Minnesota agreement to review three credible literature sources regarding COVID-19 treatment and write a paper about what he learned. He also is required to complete coursework on medical ethics and professional boundaries because he did not document the prescriptions or provide the care as a standard office visit.

The board has disciplined at least three other prescribers over their use of ivermectin or other unproven medications to treat COVID-19. It also had reportedly investigated Dr. Scott Jensen, the former state senator and Minnesota gubernatorial candidate who had publicly promoted ivermectin to treat COVID and questioned the government's response and COVID death totals. No action was taken against his license.

The best way to treat COVID-19 remains a concern, even months after the U.S. ended its pandemic declaration. Minnesota's weekly update on Thursday showed an uptick in COVID-19 activity, with at least 400 people being hospitalized with the infectious disease for the first time since March 1. Hospital cases had dropped to a low of 43 on July 11.

Wastewater sampling in Minnesota had shown little change in October in levels of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to tracking by the University of Minnesota. However, those levels rose in November. Only about 14% of Minnesotans are considered up to date with the latest recommended vaccines against COVID.