HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Local OB-GYN Dr. Thomas Shieh told The Guam Daily Post that certain statements made by the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority in a press release about the availability of first line pain medication are defamatory.
The island’s only public hospital issued a press release late Friday afternoon titled “GMHA: Upate on the Availability of Butorphanol.” In the release were statements regarding Shieh’s offer to donate butorphanol tartrate medication, formerly known as Stadol, to the facility.
“GMHA is thankful for Dr. Tom Shieh’s offer to donate Butorphanol medication that he said he was able to procure from a vendor in Honolulu. Unfortunately, it never materialized,” GMH Administrator Lillian Perez-Posadas said in the release.
“Dr. Shieh graciously provided the contact details for the vendor in Hawaii. When our pharmacist contacted the vendor, it turned out that Dr. Shieh was unable to secure the medication,” Perez-Posadas continued.
It was the latter statement which Shieh told the Post was a “lie.”
“The order for Stadol was secured via my vendor in Honolulu. Then I had a conversation with Mr. Jason Boyd, the chief pharmacist, and we agreed that it would be most beneficial if the hospital established an account and order it direct, rather than going through me. I did him and GMH a favor in making that introduction so they did not have to make a defamatory statement that I could not secure it. I told the vendor myself to stop my order as GMH’s head pharmacist liked to establish an account and order it direct,” Shieh said.
He said Boyd was present at the time of the discussion.
“Mr. Boyd came to my office, and we (had) a conversation with my vendor. During that conversation, we all agreed that it would be best to allow GMH to order direct, and they would have to just submit a credit application. From there, I canceled my order of Stadol. Mr. Boyd was in my office during this entire conversation,” Shieh said.
Correspondence between Shieh and Jeremy Shaver, a sales consultant for Henry Schein (the vendor), backed up the doctor’s claim.
“Hi Dr. Shieh, you are able to order Stadol and you had placed an order. We also have an invoice for you, which you always pay on time. Upon further discussion, it was determined that GMH would be better suited to order directly. We had (a) discussion with one of their pharmacists and yourself to potentially open an account for GMH. I have sent a credit application to GMH and have not received a completed application or order request at this time,” Shaver said in an email Shieh said he received hours after the GMH release was issued.
Shieh also provided a still image from surveillance footage at his clinic of Boyd, the pharmacist noted in Shaver’s email, at the referenced meeting on Jan. 25.
The hospital told the community that it remains without access to the first line pain medication for laboring mothers and heart and surgery patients.
“The reason for the depletion of Butorphanol is due to manufacturing delays. The lack of medication is not exclusive to Guam. There is currently a nationwide shortage of Butorphanol,” the hospital said in its release.
This is accurate, Shieh told the Post
Perez-Posadas’ first statement, indicating Shieh’s offer of a donation “never materialized,” is misleading, according to Shieh.
“GMH need(s) to stop these defamatory press releases and (its) attempt to mislead the general public and especially patients. This only goes to show how bad of an administration leadership we have there,” Shieh said.
The doctor said he was baffled by the hospital administrator’s statement, telling the Post Boyd thanked him for introducing him to the vendor. Shieh said he believes the medication not materializing has more to do with the hospital and less to do with him.
“Mr. Boyd did mention that GMH may have a history of not paying and could have a history of vendor hold with (the) supplier,” Shieh said, adding, “thus, they have not submitted (the application) at all. So go ahead, let’s blame Dr. Shieh for their vendor credit holds.”
“I, personally, have donated thousands of dollars and also surgical equipment to GMH and even the bunk beds in our OB-GYN call room among other supplies over the years. It is so sad that they stoop so low and waste so much time to create these immature, defamatory press releases in another attempt to mislead the public. And this again serves as a perfect example of why the Guam’s attorney general must investigate GMH,” he said.
Shieh said he would be submitting evidence of GMH’s “misleading press releases” to the AG’s office for investigation.
As a result of the “defamatory” statements made by the hospital, Shieh said he “will never donate anything again to GMH.”
The hospital does not anticipate receiving a shipment of butorphanol until at least August.
“GMHA has a supply of second-line medications to use while it awaits back-ordered shipments of Butorphanol to arrive,” the hospital said. “In the interim, GMHA has other pain relief options for mothers in labor, including epidurals, which are the most commonly used method for pain relief during labor. Over 60% of women take advantage of an epidural to relieve the pain of childbirth.”
Guam Memorial Hospital chief pharmacist Jason Boyd is depicted in surveillance footage from Dr. Thomas Shieh’s office on Jan. 25, 2024.
