The Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons has suspended the license of a U.S.-based physician believed to have written thousands of prescriptions for Ozempic, a diabetes drug that has helped some patients lose weight.
Regulators don’t believe Dr. David Davison has been practicing in Nova Scotia for years, but he’s expected to sell 7,500 cases of the generic name for semaglutide in February 2023, 5,800 cases in January 2023, and 5,800 cases in January 2023. It is believed to have created 3,860 prescriptions in December 2022.He said he believed most of the prescriptions were provided to Americans who compounded them in BC.
“Based on volume alone, the prescriptions are not up to professional standards,” Dr. Gus Grant, registrar and CEO of Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons, told CBC News electronically. told me by email.
“I don’t see how the amount of medication prescribed is backed up by proper medical evaluation and judgment. At first glance, prescribing seems incompetent.”
The university said Davison had a license to practice medicine in Nova Scotia. This is because, by law, licenses must be issued to qualified non-resident physicians. The doctor’s governing body says within 24 hours of learning his name, he issued a suspension of his license and launched an investigation.
Using the doctor search function on the university’s website, the only listed clinic address for Dr. David Davison is associated with Odessa, Texas.
The university said it learned Davison was prescribing Ozempic on Wednesday after receiving a letter from the BC College of Pharmacists outlining “serious concerns” about his prescription.
British Columbia announced in late March that it planned to limit sales of Ozempic to people outside of Canada, following a surge in demand for Ozempic from U.S. citizens.
“Interprovincial prescribing has long been part of the Canadian-wide approach to health care, but international prescribing is not. Pharmacists regularly receive prescriptions from prescribers in other provinces,” he said. Grant said.
“Pharmacists cannot process a prescription from an American doctor unless it is signed by a Canadian doctor. It is the pharmacist’s responsibility to do so.”
BC Health Minister Statement
In a statement, BC Health Minister Adrian Dix said he appreciated the actions of the Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons.
“To prevent the very serious problem of diversion of BC and Canadian drug supplies into the US market, it is important to ensure that Ozempic prescriptions are being conducted within the requirements of clinical practice.” he said.
