Off-Label Ivermectin for Covid-19 Creates Controversy & Conflict
October 14, 2021 – A doctors’ right to prescribe medicine for their patients is attracting attention of the wrong type when it comes to Covid-19 and ‘off-label’ prescriptions written for Ivermectin. This is the subject of the latest Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast from respected neurologist, Dr. Steven Goldstein. The podcast can be heard on: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Soundcloud, and the Houston Healthcare Initiative website.
Doctors’ Rights to Off-Label Prescriptions
Off-label prescriptions occur when a physician gives a drug that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved to treat a condition other than the one diagnosed. This practice is legal and even common as one in five prescriptions written are for off-label use.
The Same But Different
Last year Dr. Goldstein discussed the controversy and government interference with the way hydroxychloroquine, a common treatment for Malaria was prescribed off-label for patients suffering with Covid-19. Fast forward from September 2020 to October 2021 and the same thing is happening with Ivermectin, a drug that is approved for treatment of certain parasitic worm infestations, and its possible use as a treatment for Covid-19.
Is Ivermectin OK to Use?
As Dr. Goldstein told his listeners, “there are studies that show Ivermectin has no anti-viral benefit, some that show it has those qualities for some diseases and others that show it is a miraculous treatment.” So far there is no consensus among physicians about the utility of ivermectin. “My view is that doctors who suspect it to be of value should be allowed to study it,” Dr. Goldstein said.
From Unconventional to Accepted
There are many examples from the history of medicine where an individual physician working alone has made a major breakthrough with what was at the time thought unconventional. “Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis saved the lives of numerous mothers by suggesting OB doctors wash their hands before delivering a baby,” Dr. Goldstein said. “He was ridiculed by the medical establishment at the time as the germ theory of infections was not yet discovered.”
More recently 2 Australian doctors, Barry J. Marshall and Robin Warren found that stomach ulcers were caused by bacteria. “They also were ridiculed by the medical establishment until they won the Nobel Prize,” Dr. Goldstein told his listeners. His conclusion for this latest flap regarding off-label prescriptions, “allow physicians to pursue different treatments for Covid. Stop politicizing the treatments and stop publishing premature articles in the press for or against any unproven treatment.”
About The Houston Healthcare Initiative
The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein is an information vehicle for people who want to know all medical options for themselves and are interested in reforming the healthcare industry. To learn more about the Houston Healthcare Initiative please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.