The Texas Medical Board took “corrective action” last month against a doctor-minister who prescribed hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 without adequately explaining the health consequences to the patient, the Houston Chronicle reported Monday.
Dr. Stella Immanuel made international news last year when she called hydroxychloroquine a “cure” for COVID-19 in a viral video shared by then-President Donald Trump. She told the Chronicle in August 2020 that she had treated more than 400 patients with it, including the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions.
Clinical trials had showed the anti-malarial drug to be ineffective against COVID-19, and health experts cautioned the public against taking it as a coronavirus treatment due to associated health risks, including heart problems.
The Texas Medical Board, which regulates the practice of medicine in the state, ordered Immanuel on Oct. 15 to submit proof of informed consent for all off-label treatments she provides, which ensures patients are aware of the potential risks.
She was directed to adopt policies that require patients to sign consent documents for all off-label therapies. She must also pay $500 to the board, according to the Chronicle.
Corrective action is considered to be non-disciplinary. A violation of the order could lead to disciplinary action.
The board did not provide details about the patient in question.
Last year, in the wake of Immanuel’s very publicized claims about the drug, the board warned that it could take action against physicians for touting false COVID-19 cures.
“A physician must provide full disclosure of treatment options, side effects, obtain informed consent, and there cannot be false, misleading or deceptive advertising or statements made regarding any therapies, including a cure for COVID-19,” it said in a statement at the time.
Immanuel tweeted weeks later that she was being investigated by the board. She said at the time that “Big Tech is censoring Experts and suppressing the CURE.”
Immanuel is also a pastor and the founder of a Houston church, Fire Power Ministries, a platform she has used to spread non-scientific claims.
Trump defended his endorsement of her last year even after reporters pointed out sermons in which she asserted certain medical conditions stemmed from demonic sperm in demon dream sex and that alien DNA was being used as medicine, among other bizarre claims.