A Waterville-based physician suspended from practicing medicine for spreading COVID-19 misinformation agreed to extend the suspension pending a hearing on the matter scheduled for early next year.

Dr. Paul Gosselin, an osteopath who operates the Patriots Health clinic on Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville, agreed to stop practicing medicine until an adjudicatory hearing set for February. The consent agreement finalized Thursday gives Gosselin’s attorney more time to prepare his defense, according to a copy of the agreement published by the Board of Osteopathic Licensure.

Dr. Paul Gosselin Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer

He could face further loss of his license to practice depending on the outcome of the February hearing.

The board suspended Gosselin’s license on an emergency basis on Nov. 18 after regulators reviewed vaccine exemption letters signed by Gosselin. The board also received reports from other medical providers who were concerned that Gosselin was spreading misinformation about the coronavirus, although the board’s notice of suspension does not specify what misinformation he shared. The decision also does not explain why the vaccination exemption letters were questionable.

The emergency suspension notice said Gosselin is suspected of engaging in fraud or deceit and of being incompetent or unprofessional in his practice.

He had previously attempted to raise $100,000 for his legal defense online at GoFundMe. In his fundraising appeal, Gosselin claimed he came under scrutiny for “for writing exemption letters and treating Covid,” but that fundraiser was apparently removed. A second fundraising effort on the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo has raised about $1,000.

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Adjudicatory hearings resemble court trials, where witnesses give testimony and attorneys for both sides ask questions and present evidence. The board then decides if punishment is warranted and renders a decision that includes a summary of each side’s arguments. Gosselin’s attorney, F.R. Jenkins of Portland, did not return a message seeking an interview.

According to his clinic’s website, Gosselin offers “affordable attentive holistic healthcare” through a range of services, including traditional family practice and internal medicine, medication-assisted treatment for addiction and alternative medicine. He is the only medical provider listed at the clinic.

He also lists COVID-19 treatment options, including a regimen of vitamins, steroids and a blood thinner that is not approved by the FDA and has not been tested in clinical trials but is being marketed by a group of doctors who claim it is effective. Those doctors, under the name Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, were early proponents of another purported virus treatment that the FDA has not endorsed – prescribing the deworming medicine ivermectin, which is often prescribed for animals. The group maintains a nationwide list of pharmacies that have agreed to fill ivermectin prescriptions for off-label use.

One page on Gosselin’s clinic website offers a one-time flat rate of $200 for the unproven coronavirus regimen, with continued treatment through a membership program. It does not specify what treatments or medications are included in the service.

Gosselin also links to another medical group that is skeptical of vaccinations. One article he provides a link to, by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, pushes the unsanctioned use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. Other links to that group on Gosselin’s website suggest that mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, which were found to be safe and effective in double-blind clinical trials, may have unknown side effects. Some of the links also raise doubts about whether parents should vaccinate their children.

Gosselin’s medical license has been suspended before, including in 2013, when he was forbidden from practicing for 90 days after he was charged with operating under the influence. Three years later, in 2017, Gosselin’s license was suspended for a year when the board found he failed to comply with probation measures put in place following his OUI arrest.

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