Medical board says KS senator’s ivermectin directive is ‘opinion’ with no legal weight
The Kansas Board of Healing Arts said Friday that a letter state Sen. Mark Steffen sent to hospitals and clinics instructing them to prescribe off-label treatments for COVID-19 carried no legal or regulatory weight and was “simply his opinion.”
Steffen, a Hutchinson anesthesiologist and longtime proponent of unproven COVID-19 treatments, circulated letters last week on Senate stationary to healthcare providers telling them they must prescribe ivermectin and other treatments to COVID-19 patients and that they will be shielded from the board’s “interference.”
Steffen is currently under investigation by the board, which licenses health care providers in Kansas.
In his March 31 letter he cited the recent Senate passage of a measure, House Bill 2280. But the bill hasn’t passed the Legislature and may never become law.
In a response letter Friday, the Board of Healing Arts said Steffen’s “unprecedented” letter had caused “confusion and concern” in the Kansas medical community.
“While the Board hopes the Senator’s letter was in good faith, the Board understands the source of confusion it may have caused the Kansas medical community,” the board wrote.
“Nothing in Kansas or federal law prohibits the off-label prescribing of FDA approved drugs (including Ivermectin or Hydroxychloroquine) for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. But in so prescribing, physicians and other prescribers are bound by the standard of care in the treatment of patients which is dependent on the facts of each case.”
The response was signed by the Board of Healing Arts President, Thomas Estep, and Executive Director Susan Gile.
Standard of care, the response said, is determined by what a reasonable physician would do in a situation. In Steffen’s letter he said doctors were bound to prescribe off-label treatments to comply with standards of care.
Steffen’s position, the board said, “is simply his opinion” and “his opinion has not altered the legal standard.”
Furthermore, the board reminded physicians that HB 2280 is not current law and would not require prescription of any specific treatment if passed.
Steffen did not respond to The Star’s request for comment Friday.
Steffen has said he is under investigation by the board and has acknowledged prescribing ivermectin. He has declined to confirm whether the inquiry involves those prescriptions, but has said it includes his public statements, which have been supportive of ivermectin and other unproven COVID-19 treatments.
Efforts to prove the effectiveness of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19 have foundered. A large study involving more than 3,500 patients published in the New England Journal of Medicine in late March found ivermectin doesn’t reduce the risk of hospitalization.
That hasn’t stopped Steffen and others from continuing to pursue the unproven treatments. The Senate advanced House Bill 2280 on March 23 in a 21-16 vote, the minimum support needed for passage.
The measure would require a review of investigations conducted by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts into doctors who have prescribed drugs for off-label uses to treat COVID-19. Off-label prescriptions are common, but doctors are expected to follow the standard of care. Steffen has said he would not be impacted by the legislation.
The bill also contains sweeping exemptions from childhood vaccine requirements.
The legislation was sent to a conference committee, where House and Senate negotiators forge final agreements over bills. But on Friday, the day after the date on Steffen’s letter, House negotiators refused to consider the proposal.
The Legislature has now adjourned for several weeks, leaving the bill’s fate undecided until at least late April.
