Ho Anh had just started working at Lemonaid Health when he was caught up in a sting.
In 2017, after receiving reports about the telehealth site, an investigator for the California medical board logged on to Lemonaid using an alias. “Mark Peters” filled out a brief questionnaire about his imaginary symptoms, and Anh answered in a message: “Mark” likely had a bacterial sinus infection, the doctor said, writing a prescription for 10 days of amoxicillin. Another undercover investigator, “Mary Peters,” got antibiotics for a nonexistent urinary tract infection.
That care, the medical board charged in 2018, was negligent: Anh didn’t collect vital signs, get a reliable medical history, or otherwise verify that his patients were actually sick and needed antibiotics. The doctor, who went on to serve in leading roles at Hims and Cerebral, walked away with a reprimand and a promise to take a course in prescribing practices in 2020.