Sixteen doctors fined for prescribing ivemectin, hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid
The Dutch healthcare and youth care inspectorate, IGJ, fined 16 doctors accused of prescribing the drugs ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19. The highest fine issued was nearly 13,000 euros.
That fine was given to a doctor who prescribed one, or both of the drugs a total of 150 times. The IGJ said that off-label use of two drugs was not allowed.
“In the Netherlands, the basic principle is that doctors do not prescribe medicines that have been marketed for other diseases,” the IGJ said. Off-label use is allowable when the medical profession creates a system for the use and monitoring of a medication, and in strict consultation with the specific patient and a pharmacist.
“There are no protocols or industry standards that permit the use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. In fact, the standards and protocols of the profession explicitly state that there is no flexibility to use these substances for the off-label use treatment of Covid-19,” the inspectorate stated.
Back in December, the IGJ launched an investigation into a group of doctors who were allegedly prescribing ivermectin online. A report on RTL Nieuws showed how someone could obtain a prescription just two minutes into an online consultation that cost 30 euros. The drug is used to treat parasites in humans, including scabies, but not viruses. It can also be used as deworming medicine in horses.
Intensive care expert Diederik Gommers said in September 2021, "Until now, studies have not proven a positive effect. Thus, we don't use them." At the time, there were reports of some people angrily demanding their doctors prescribe the medication, which Gommers said was “unacceptable.”
The malaria medication hydroxycloroquine was initially found to be ineffective in treating Covid-19 during a study at the Amsterdam University Medical Center. The drug was later determined to have some positive effect on intensive care admissions if used immediately during a larger Dutch study, but it had no noticeable effect on the mortality rate of Covid-19.
The fines were handed out between July and October. The IGJ did not say when the drugs were prescribed, just that it happened during the coronavirus pandemic.
