Cole “also provided negligent care” to four Washington patients, according to the Washington board’s statement of charges. He prescribed drugs “that are not indicated for a COVID-19 infection, failed to properly document adequate justification for the treatment in the medical record, failed to take a history or perform a physical examination, and failed to obtain appropriate informed consent,” it said.
All four patients described in the board’s statement sought care from Cole in June and July 2021.
Cole prescribed ivermectin to the first patient, who had COVID-19. When the patient’s pharmacy wouldn’t fill the prescription as it was written, Cole sent in a lower dose prescription to another pharmacy and told the patient to “take 7 pills today and tomorrow even though the bottle says 4. Day 3 take the rest. Then refill. Take 7 7 6 again,” the board’s statement says, quoting medical records.
To a second patient who did not have COVID-19 at the time, Cole prescribed weekly doses of ivermectin for up to three months. He also recommended daily supplements “and to double her dose of ivermectin if she tested positive for COVID-19,” the board statement said. The patient’s age and obesity level put her at high risk of hospitalization, but Cole did not inform her of that, the statement said.
To a third patient, Cole prescribed ivermectin and recommended an assortment of supplements. The patient did not currently have COVID-19 and told Cole “she had had energy issues since experiencing flu-like symptoms in February 2020 and feeling like she was having a heart attack.” Cole assumed she had long COVID and didn’t ask about her heart symptoms, the statement said. The patient later tried to follow up with Cole but “he never responded,” according to the board’s statement.
To a fourth patient who did have COVID-19, Cole prescribed ivermectin and steroid medications without seeing or examining the patient first, the board document says. But he failed to tell the patient about possible side effects of steroid treatments and “also did not provide timely follow-up care when requested by (the patient),” the board said.
Finally, the board alleges Cole “also provided inadequate opportunity for follow-up care, treated patients beyond his competency level, and did not advise patients about standard treatment guidelines and preventative measures.”
The board’s statement of charges revealed that Cole used a telehealth platform “that relied on instant message chat instead of a phone call or video.” That kind of patient interaction “does not comply with the standard of care for conducting a physical examination of a patient,” the board said.
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