Regina doctor facing discipline for allegedly prescribing Ivermectin for COVID

A Regina doctor is being brought up on allegations of professional misconduct for prescribing Ivermectin to patients to prevent and treat infections of COVID-19.

The allegations say that for just under two years — between April 2020 and March 2022 — Dr. Tshipita Kabongo was a doctor at the Integrated Wellness and Health Balance Centre in Regina. The doctor is accused of prescribing Ivermectin, a drug used against parasitic infections, to people for COVID.

“(Kabongo) failed to know and/or adhere to the College Policy on Complementary and Alternative Therapies,” read the allegations.

It went on to say that one or more of the prescriptions weren’t medically indicated, the doctor didn’t recommend other “evidence-informed” treatment options and medical records didn’t have the appropriate documentation for the prescriptions.

These allegations have not been admitted and have been referred to the College of Physicians and Surgeons’ discipline committee.

The college’s position on complementary and alternative therapies acknowledges that patients have the right to make decisions about their own health, but also talks about the doctor’s responsibilities in such instances.

“It is unethical to engage in or to aid and abet in treatment which has no acceptable scientific basis, may be dangerous, may deceive the patient by giving false hope, or which may cause the patient to delay in seeking conventional care until his or her condition becomes irreversible,” the college said in a document listing the charges.

“Physicians who choose to practise complementary or alternative therapies in combination with conventional medicine must practise in a manner that is informed by medical evidence and science and is in keeping with their professional, ethical and legal obligations.”

There is a series of requirements listed for doctors who do choose to prescribe alternative therapies, including not delaying the use of an effective and proven therapy and counselling patients about the risks and benefits.

While Ivermectin had been shown in some lab studies to inhibit the adherence and transport of COVID into host cells, according to a fact sheet from the Saskatchewan Health Authority, no clinical trials have reported benefits of treatment with Ivermectin for COVID patients.

The United States’ National Institute of Health’s website lists 12 clinical trials which investigated Ivermectin, none of which found any benefits from the drug in treating COVID.