Pardon Dr. Ryan Cole

I was asked by a group of concerned citizens to give my opinion about the actions that have been taken against Dr. Ryan Cole by both the Washington State Board of Medicine and The Idaho Board of Medicine. I have not recently reviewed the allegations made against him, nor have I reviewed all of the most recent pleadings by his attorney. I do know that his attorney Nancy Garrett did an excellent job in presenting his case. I do know that the issue about the defense of the STANDARD OF MEDICAL CARE and THE STANDARD OF MEDICAL PRACTICE remains allusive. I know that the attorney for the State Board of Medicine in Idaho that originally handled the case did an excellent job of sorting out the politics and the law and the facts and mere opinion. The attorney in Washington State not so much.

In the end, Dr. Cole was correct about the Covid Virus well over 90% of the time—far better than either the State of Idaho or Washington. The issue of “scope of practice” has yet to be made clear as is so often the case. It is irrefutable that the “Powers that be” who orchestrated the Idaho Covid response were remis in my opinion for not consulting with Dr. Cole regarding his recommendations for mitigation and treatment—one member of the Governor’s advisory Board did consult with Dr. Cole early on, until it became politically problematic.

I think it is well past the time for our Governor to pardon Dr. Cole and reinstate his license without restrictions. The only reason not to do so is because the political medical establishment that truly does not speak for the majority of physicians in our State, and especially not for patients, has a vested interest in protecting the corporate interests in our State.

My comments follow:

Ryan Cole was arguably the most qualified physician in the State of Idaho to render an opinion about Covid public health strategy, mitigation strategies for patients and treatment.

He is an Air Force Academy Graduate.

He graduated from Georgetown Medical School.

He did a 4-year residency in pathology receiving a special certificate in virology—nobody in Idaho has those credentials.

His treatment of patients with Ivermectin was controversial at the time but not today.His use of telemedicine and prescribing medications over the phone was at the time against the Medical Practice Act, but in retrospect was proven to be well within the “standard of medical practice” that was practiced by hundreds of doctors in Idaho at the time.

The doctors that came after him were full time employees of Luke’s and Al’s.

I don’t know a single credible independent physician that even rendered an opinion about Dr. Cole.

The attorney for the SBOM handled this case perfectly—looking first at the law and the ambiguities between the “Standard of Care”, and the “Standard of Medical Practice”.

Nancy Garrett his attorney did a magnificent job negotiating the politics and the law in this case.

One final allegation against Dr. Cole was that he was a pathologist and therefore couldn’t treat patients. That is an absolutely false claim. The license to practice medicine and surgery is the same for all physicians. It is their credentials that limit the scope of practice. I know of at least three pathologists who treated Covid patients. Nothing happened to them.

I truly believe that, if possible, Governor Little should give Dr. Ryan Cole a complete and unequivocal pardon. The actions of the State government and especially the DHW and the Governor’s own advisory Board did more damage to our State and its people than anything Dr. Cole could have possibly done.