News & Notes

Abstract

The FSMB has released findings from its 2021 annual survey of its member state medical boards, with this year’s survey including feedback from the boards on how they are being impacted by, and addressing, the spread by health professionals of false or misleading information about COVID-19.When boards were asked about complaints and disciplinary actions related to COVID-19, the survey found: 67% have experienced an increase in complaints related to licensee dissemination of false or misleading information.26% have made or published statements about the dissemination of false or misleading information.21% have taken a disciplinary action against a licensee disseminating false or misleading information.In July 2021, the FSMB Board of Directors released a statement reminding physicians that if they spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation, they are risking disciplinary action by their state medical board. Since then, more than a dozen boards have published statements about licensees spreading false or misleading information and/or taken disciplinary action against a licensee for spreading false or misleading information.The FSMB’s Ethics and Professionalism Committee is in the process of drafting a policy document that will include guidelines and recommendations for state medical boards to help address the spread of disinformation. Once drafted, the policy document will be circulated for comment and voted on for adoption by the FSMB’s House of Delegates at its annual meeting in April 2022.The FSMB is also monitoring legislation that has been introduced in a number of states aimed at limiting state medical boards’ authority to act in the furtherance of public health and patient safety. If enacted, a number of bills would make it more difficult for licensing boards to discipline a licensee for spreading disinformation.“The staggering number of state medical boards that have seen an increase in COVID-19 disinformation complaints is a sign of how widespread the issue has become,” said Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, MACP, President and CEO of the FSMB. “We are encouraged by the number of boards that have already taken action to combat COVID-19 disinformation by disciplining physicians who engage in that behavior and by reminding all physicians that their words and actions matter, and they should think twice before spreading disinformation that may harm patients.”The FSMB’s webinar on health care disinformation, titled “Stopping the Spread: Disinformation and its Impact on Physicians and Patients,” is now available for viewing online. The webinar, which was recorded before a live virtual audience in October 2021, offers designated continuing medical education (CME) credit to qualified viewers.The one-hour webinar explores how disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic has been amplified via social media, fueling distrust in vaccines and other public health measures; the impact disinformation has had on patient health; and trends that are developing in medical regulation for addressing it.Featured speakers include Imran Ahmed, the founding CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate and a recognized authority on the social and psychological dynamics of social media, and Katie L. Templeton, JD, a health-law attorney, member of the FSMB Board of Directors and Chair of the FSMB’s Ethics and Professionalism Committee. The webinar is moderated by Mark L. Staz, MA, Management Consultant for Regulatory Policy at the FSMB.The webinar is designed specifically for physician members and legal staff of state medical and osteopathic boards, and others within the medical regulatory and licensing communities.To view the webinar, visit https://www.pathlms.com/fsmb/courses/36209.