Maine’s state medical board has withdrawn some allegations against a doctor facing the loss of her license for prescribing hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin to COVID-19 patients.
In a Sept. 26 amended hearing notice, the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine withdrew six allegations against Dr. Meryl Nass, who criticized early COVID-19 policies and the government’s response online. In a final amended notice on Sept. 30, the board deleted additional allegations related to her public opinions.
The notice continues to accuse Dr. Nass, an internist based in the town of Ellsworth, of failing to keep “complete, accurate and timely” records and lying to a pharmacist about her reasons for prescribing the drugs. A hearing on Tuesday afternoon will determine whether she loses her medical license permanently.
“The progress note contains no patient history, no physical examination, no medical decision-making, no patient informed consent, no coordination of care, and no recommended follow-up,” the Sept. 30 notice states regarding a hydroxychloroquine prescription Dr. Nass wrote last year.
During an opening statement this week, Dr. Nass’s attorney said she had not received a patient complaint in 42 years of practicing medicine.
“No patient has complained that they received Dr. Nass’s services for these medications without their informed consent,” attorney Gene Libby told the board. “Dr. Nass is here only because she criticized the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines distributed and promoted by the federal and state government.”
The medical board suspended Dr. Nass’s license in January, citing “unprofessional” and “disruptive” behavior.
The Sept. 30 notice quotes Dr. Nass disclosing in emails to the board and in a December 2021 Zoom meeting with Maine state lawmakers that she hid the reasons for her prescriptions because she believed the drugs could save her patients.
She said she told one pharmacist over the phone that she was prescribing hydroxychloroquine for Lyme disease, not COVID.
The board has also accused her of unprofessional conduct for prescribing the drugs based on text messages and phone calls with some patients.
According to the hearing notice, Dr. Nass prescribed a five-day regimen of ivermectin after diagnosing one patient with COVID-19 over the phone.
The notice says she kept prescribing hydroxychloroquine after the Food and Drug Administration revoked its emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine in June 2020. The FDA has never approved the use of ivermectin to treat COVID.
A graduate of the University of Mississippi Medical School, Dr. Nass serves as a scientific board member of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine advocacy group.
“The board’s attempts to censor physicians like Nass have no role in medicine or science,” Mary Holland, the group’s president, said in a statement Thursday.
Correction: A previous version of this report mischaracterized several details of the medical board’s hearing notice.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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