Westport Doctor Accused Of Misconduct Over Covid Treatment: State

WESTPORT, CT — Westport physician Dr. Robban Sica has been accused by the state Department of Public Health of misconduct for prescribing Ivermectin to a patient without properly assessing the patient's condition, according to officials.

In a motion to amend the charges, state officials claim Sica treated the patient off-and-on for nearly 20 years, and wrote a letter in April 2021 exempting the patient from the "'COVID vaccine or influenza vaccine' without clinical and/or medical justification."

Then in September of that year, the patient, described as Patient 1, told Sica's office that she had coronavirus, and Sica then prescribed her Ivermectin, the state claims:

Respondent’s care for Patient 1 failed to meet the standard of care in one or more of the following ways, in that she:

a. failed to properly communicate with, interact, examine and/or assess Patient 1 prior to prescribing Ivermectin;
b. failed to properly treat Patient 1;
c. failed to obtain patient consent and/or properly inform the patient of the risks of using Ivermectin for treating COVID-19;
d. failed to refer her to an appropriate healthcare practitioner; and/or,
e. inappropriately prescribed Ivermectin and/or failed to prescribe appropriate medication.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that Ivermectin is prescribed to humans and animals "to treat infections caused by some parasitic worms and head lice and skin conditions like rosacea," but should not be used to treat covid.

"The FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 in people or animals," officials wrote in a statement. "Ivermectin has not been shown to be safe or effective for these indications."

As a result, state DPH officials are calling on the Connecticut Medical Examining Board to "revoke or order other disciplinary action against Robban Sica’s physician and surgeon license as it deems appropriate and consistent with law."

The medical examining board has not taken action against Sica or imposed any discipline, according to Sica's attorney, Cameron Atkinson. Additionally, a hearing has not yet been scheduled, at which time his client will contest the accusations.

In a statement to Patch, Atkinson said that the state is on "a baseless fishing expedition" against his client, and the state's allegations remain unproven.

"Someone who never was Dr. Sica’s patient manufactured a frivolous complaint against her because of a political disagreement with her professional judgment," Atkinson told Patch. "The state converted that frivolous complaint into a baseless fishing expedition to find any conceivable irregularity upon which to accuse Dr. Sica of misconduct in line with a national political agenda. Dr. Sica is guilty of nothing but fulfilling her Hippocratic oath in the middle of a global pandemic and difficult circumstances, and her professional judgment has saved lives and endangered no one. We call upon the state to speedily toss these politically motivated charges of misconduct."