Matthew Trom, a physician assistant, was reprimanded by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice after not reporting that he prescribed ivermectin to patients for COVID-19 treatment.
According to documents from the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, the board received reports that Trom prescribed ivermectin to patients who showed symptoms of COVID-19. Trom confirmed that he did prescribe ivermectin and “viewed his actions as reasonable and within the standard of care.”
However, Trom did not document those prescriptions “because of what he saw as an intense controversy surrounding Ivermectin as a treatment option for COVID-19.” Additionally, Trom wrote ivermectin prescriptions for individuals not treated through regular office visits.
On Nov. 18, 2023, the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice officially reprimanded Trom’s medical license and downgraded it from “unconditional” to “conditional.” The report detailing this decision was not made public until last week.
Ivermectin is an FDA-approved medication that has been used by hundreds of millions of people around the globe. Primarily used to treat parasitic infections such as river blindness, ivermectin “has also been used to successfully overcome several other human diseases and new uses for it are continually being found.” Numerous countries adopted use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 to varying degrees, according to one analysis.
Despite a near-universal effort to discredit ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, a meta analysis of 99 studies concluded that “ivermectin reduces risk for COVID-19 with very high confidence for mortality, ventilation, ICU admission, hospitalization, progression, recovery, cases, viral clearance, and in pooled analysis.” In other words, “ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID-19,” the analysis said.
In his case before the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, Trom acknowledged that the law and facts of the situation justify disciplinary action.
The Minnesota Board of Medical Practice’s report stated that Trom’s actions were inappropriate under Minnesota statutes. Specifically, the board holds that Trom engaged in unethical conduct, failed to maintain adequate records, and failed to conform to the minimal standards of acceptable and prevailing practice.
As a part of his punishment, Trom was instructed to review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website “for the current guidelines for healthcare professionals on, at minimum, the prevention, treatment, and management of COVID-19.”
However, the CDC often altered the COVID-19 guidelines they issued, made total reversals to the guidelines in some cases, caused significant confusion, and the CDC’s own internal review found that they “mishandled” the pandemic.
In addition to reviewing CDC COVID guidelines, Trom is required to complete coursework relating to professional boundaries, medical ethics, medical records management, and medical research. After the coursework, Trom must write to the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice and describe “what he has learned.”
If Trom does not “fully comply with each of the terms” contained in the agreement, then the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice will schedule a new hearing where they may suspend or revoke Trom’s medical license.
“A busy family man, and father of nine children,” Trom currently works with Hudson Physicians in Wisconsin. His work biography includes this reminder: “Know that you are a child of God who loves you and wants you to experience joy and happiness. Pray unceasingly.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
