Medical Boards Warn Against Physicians Spreading COVID Misinformation
As the coronavirus continues to affect the daily lives of those around the U.S. and globally, and vaccination requirements now being mandated at a federal level in the U.S., it is more important than ever that physicians do not add to the growing spread of misinformation surrounding the virus.
On Sept. 9, the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) released a joint statement on its website with the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) on the dissemination of misinformation by board-certified physicians about COVID-19.
According to the release, “The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), which supports its member state medical licensing boards, has recently issued a statement saying that providing misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine contradicts physicians’ ethical and professional responsibilities, and therefore may subject a physician to disciplinary actions, including suspension or revocation of their medical license. We at the ABFM, the ABIM, and the ABP support FSMB’s position. We also want all physicians certified by our Boards to know that such unethical or unprofessional conduct may prompt their respective Board to take action that could put their certification at risk.”
That said, “Expertise matters, and board-certified physicians have demonstrated that they have stayed current in their field. Spreading misinformation or falsehoods to the public during a time of a public health emergency goes against everything our Boards and our community of board-certified physicians stand for. The evidence that we have safe, effective, and widely available vaccines against COVID-19 is overwhelming. We are particularly concerned about physicians who use their authority to denigrate vaccination at a time when vaccines continue to demonstrate excellent effectiveness against severe illness, hospitalization, and death.”
Further, “We all look to board-certified physicians to provide outstanding care and guidance; providing misinformation about a lethal disease is unethical, unprofessional, and dangerous. In times of medical emergency, the community of expert physicians committed to science and evidence collectively shares a responsibility for giving the public the most accurate and timely health information available, so they can make decisions that work best for themselves and their families.”
The statement was signed by Warren Newton, M.D., president and CEO of the ABFM; Richard J. Baron, M.D., president and CEO of the ABIM; and David G. Nichols, M.D., president and CEO of ABP.
