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A Pennsylvania general surgeon was fired after being accused of writing prescriptions for ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients who requested the drugs through social media.

Edith Behr, MD, was fired from Tower Health's Phoenixville and Pottstown hospitals Thursday after the health system learned that she had allegedly been writing prescriptions for the controversial drugs to people through the Facebook profile of an Italian restaurant.

"While a licensed physician may prescribe approved medications for 'off-label' purposes, the prescribing process must adhere to the requirements of medical licensure, as well as Tower Health Medical Group policies, including the physician conducting an appropriate patient history and assessment, including allergies and potential medication interactions, and documenting dosage amount, timing, etc., in the patient's medical record," Tower Health said in an emailed statement.

"Our investigation determined Dr. Behr did not meet these requirements and, as a result, Dr. Behr's employment with has been terminated effective immediately," the statement added.

Behr is accused of writing prescriptions for ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for patients who were referred to her by Christine Mason through a Facebook account tied to the restaurant in Palmyra, which is owned by her mother, reported. Mason did not name Behr in the Facebook messages, instead identifying her supplier as a female physician and the drugs as "I" and "H."

However, at least one social media user identified Behr as the source and reported her to Tower Health and the authorities.

Tower Health does not approve of the use of ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID, according to its statement.

The drugs have not been authorized by the FDA to treat the disease, but many Americans have clamored for them since former President Donald Trump and other public figures backed them early in the pandemic.

Tower Health, which runs nine hospitals and many other medical facilities in Pennsylvania, noted in its statement that it "encourages all eligible individuals to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and to practice appropriate masking and social distancing. These are the best options for discouraging the spread of the virus, and to minimize risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death."

Individual police departments "indicated they received complaints, and a preliminary investigation showed allegations of misconduct which potentially spanned multiple counties," read an emailed statement from the Lebanon County District Attorney to . "I spoke with the AG's Office on Tuesday; they are aware of the matter."

We "cannot confirm or deny our office's involvement in this matter," said officials from the state attorney general's office on Thursday, according to the Reading Eagle. The press office did not return a query from 乌鸦传媒.

An active license from the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine was found for an Edith Del Behr of Pottstown. It was first issued in 1987, renewed in 2020, and is set to expire at the end of this year. Behr has not been disciplined by the board.

Behr's profile on the Tower Health website . 乌鸦传媒 could not reach Behr, and Tower Health declined to respond to questions.

Taste of Sicily has posted a few times on its Facebook profile this week, including its most recent post Thursday: "This page is in jeopardy of being shutdown by Facebook. While we'll use this page as long as we can, we've started another page on a free speech platform created by Jason from Wendy Bell Radio. Wimkin works just like Facebook including live-streaming and video chat. We will not be censored there and neither will you."

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