A Louisiana judge’s order to give a critically ill COVID-19 patient the medication ivermectin is raising concerns among medical professionals about court intrusions on the practice of medicine.
Judge John Keller of the 22nd Judicial District ruled on Aug. 20 that St. Tammany Parish Hospital caregivers should give ivermectin to Charlotte Ratley, who was hospitalized for serious complications as a result of contracting the coronavirus. Ratley, however, died less than 24 hours after Keller issued the order.
If hospital staff refused to administer the drug, the order states, Ratley's daughter, a physician's assistant, should be provided ivermectin that could be administered to her mother, the order states.
In a Sept. 29 court filing, the hospital responded to the order, arguing that plaintiffs misled the court about a previous prescription Ratley had for ivermectin, that the hospital was denied due process because of an attorney’s failure to notify the hospital about the filing of the petition and that the court was not advised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never recommended the medication for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.
“COVID-19 patients, and patients with other serious clinical conditions, are, understandably, eager to consider new therapies which are going through clinical trials,” the hospital’s response to the petition states, “but patients are not in a position to evaluate these new therapies, and these patients should not be allowed to prevail on courts to issue orders or judgments with respect to new therapies which are not approved by the FDA, or the hospital, for their treatment.”
The hospital’s court filing also expressed concern that lawsuits filed by patients’ families could lead to medical professionals’ judgments being usurped by the lay judgment of patients via court orders.
Louisiana caregivers’ professional organizations shared similar concerns.
“We are unaware of any other Louisiana hospital that has received a court order directing a hospital’s medical staff to provide specific medications or treatments to a patient,” Paul Salles, president and CEO of the Louisiana Hospital Association, told the Louisiana Record in an email. “Like the rest of the medical community, we are very concerned by court actions that infringe upon the professional practice of medicine and create significant risks to patient safety.”
The Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS) has also raised concerns about those outside of the medical profession overruling decisions by medical professionals.
“A treating physician’s judgment relative to standard of care is fundamental to the practice of medicine,” Dr. William Freeman, the LSMS president, said in an email to the Record. “The LSMS Board of Governors supports the patient-physician relationship and opposes intrusion upon such by overreaching non-medically trained individuals or entities.”