Doctors who spread disinfo could be punished or protected, depending on the state

Doctors who spread Covid-19-related misinformation (think: reckless and factually wrong) and disinformation (i.e., intentionally misleading) are facing increased scrutiny.

Specifically, the question being raised is whether these doctors should be disciplined. Although nine out of 10 Americans polled think they should be, states have been all over the map with their responses.

• California became the first state to pass a bill that could lead to doctors having their license suspended or revoked for “spreading false or misleading medical information.”
• Georgia also adopted the Federation of State Medical Boards’ stance that physicians who spread Covid-19 misinformation or disinformation risk having their license suspended or revoked.

But more than 30 states, from Alaska to New Hampshire, have introduced bills that would shield practitioners who advise or prescribe “off-label” treatment for Covid-19 from disciplinary measures, according to the Federation of State Medical Boards.

The divide seems to reflect the long-established inconsistency in the way state medical boards discipline doctors for “serious” actions across the US, as documented by watchdog group Public Citizen.

Robert Oshel, adviser to Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, said rules for boards and their makeup—like how doctor-heavy boards are versus having more consumer representation—influence discipline for issues as serious as potential malpractice. Formerly with the National Practitioner Data Bank, which tracks such disciplinary actions, Oshel said doctors are less inclined to be sympathetic when the issue is behavioral—say, for spreading medical misinformation.

That doesn’t mean medical boards will be uniform in punishing physicians for this. However, especially in states where legislators are invoking free-speech protections, that could shield doctors from discipline.

“In all cases, the law says their primary duty is to protect the public,” Oshel said. “But how that’s actually done varies from state to state.”