Alabama is following the lead of several states to pass try and pass legislation allowing physicians to prescribe “off label” medications like ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. Alabama Bill SB 312 mandates that “occupational licensing boards prohibited to take adverse action based on physician’s recommended COVID-19 treatment, health care facilities and pharmacies required to fulfill patient’s COVID-19 treatment request”.
New Bill Goes One Step Further
The legislation, introduced by Republican Senator Arthur Orr of Decatur, prevents “occupational licensing boards from taking punitive actions against doctors who prescribe “off-label” drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.” This is a marked difference from bills in other states, even ones that received “legal opinions” from States Attorneys General supporting the legislation. For example, in South Carolina, Attorney General Alan Wilson issued an opinion supporting a doctor’s right to prescribe ivermectin for treatment of Covid-19 but did not weigh in on the physician-employer relationship.
If a doctor does prescribe the “controversial” medication, Wilson’s opinion does not take into account the prescriber may be going against the rules of the health care provider who employs the physician. A doctor in Pennsylvania was fired for prescribing ivermectin.
The Alabama bill would force “healthcare facilities to provide these drugs, procedures or devices to any patient who requested them for the treatment of Covid-19.” The legislation maintains since ivermectin and other drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) they can be prescribed for treatment of covid, even though the FDA recommends that ivermectin not be used for covid treatment. The FDA has consistently referred to ivermectin as a “horse de wormer.”
Legislation Hands Power to Doctors
The bill went through a “sparsely” attended committee and was approved by a vote of 4-0 and now goes to the state senate. The legislation stipulates, “a licensing board shall not revoke, suspend, fail to renew, or take action against a physician’s license based solely on a physician’s recommended or prescribed treatment for COVID-19 if the physician exercised independent medical judgment, believes that the medical treatment is in the best interest of the patient, and the patient provided written, informed consent before receiving the treatment.” As stated in the last sentence, which is crucial, the patient is required to sign an informed consent form and release all parties from liability which includes the doctor, the facility, and the licensing board.
The Alabama legislation differs from other states because of the patient release and points out the “off label” drugs are FDA approved. As Senator Orr stated, “we’re only talking about FDA-approved medications, just using them off-label.” Opposition to the bill came from the Alabama Association for Justice, which represents lawyers. The attorneys were concerned with some of the immunity the legislation would provide. With only seven days left in the legislative session, it is unclear when the bill will be brought to a vote.