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Oregon doctor who refused to follow COVID guidelines and said face masks cause carbon dioxide poisoning has license revoked

The New York Daily News - 9/17/2021

An Oregon doctor who refused to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines and spread misinformation about face masks had its license revoked.

On Sept. 2, the Oregon Medical Board revoked the medical license of Steven Arthur LaTulippe, a physician who most recently practiced family medicine in Dallas, Oregon, for “dishonorable or unprofessional conduct; repeated negligence in the practice of medicine; and gross negligence in the practice of medicine,” according to medical board documents.

The board also found that LaTulippe, who described himself as “specializing in pain medicine and addiction medicine,” over-prescribed opioids to some patients.

He was issued a civil penalty fine of $10,000 per violation and to cover the costs of the proceeding against him.

In December, the board suspended the then-licensed physician over evidence that indicated that LaTulippe’s “continued practice constitutes an immediate danger to the public.”

LaTulippe filed a federal lawsuit against the board in January, alleging that the suspension violated his due process and free speech rights, adding that he had been penalized due to a “mere difference in medical opinion.”

The board found that his office would often place patients in danger, by asking them to remove their masks and disregarding COVID-19 mandates.

According to board documents, LaTulippe “trained his receptionist ‘to look at [patients] and just take a look at them and see if they look sick,’ and, if the patient was ‘smiling and happy,’ the receptionist was instructed to ask how the patient was feeling.”

Between March and December 2020, he reportedly didn’t wear a mask when treating patients, except during surgical procedures, and only required patients to do so if they were “acutely ill, coughing, [or] congested.”

In one occasion, in May or June 2020, he allegedly told a patient who was experiencing elevated blood pressure, that wearing a mask might be contributing to her condition, and that she was at greater risk from CO2 toxicity from wearing a mask than she was from getting COVID-19.

In another instance, LaTulippe’s wife, who assisted at the clinic, reportedly told a patient that being exposed to other people would provide COVID immunity, and that masks were ineffective for reducing the spread of the virus.

After the patient called the clinic to inquire about LaTulippe’s wife’s credentials, she said she received a letter stating that she was no longer welcome at the clinic, and that her relatives also should no longer call or visit the clinic.

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