Low Frequency of Discipline Seen for Physician-Spread Misinformation

FRIDAY, Nov. 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The frequency of medical board discipline for physician-spread misinformation is low, according to a study published online Nov. 12 in JAMA Network Open.

Richard S. Saver, J.D., from the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill, compared the level of professional discipline of physicians for spreading medical misinformation relative to discipline for other offenses in a cross-sectional study conducted in the five most populous U.S. states.

Saver found that spreading misinformation to the community was the least common reason for medical board discipline of physicians among 3,128 medical board disciplinary proceedings (0.1 percent of all identified offenses). Two reasons tied for third least common: patient-directed misinformation and inappropriate advertising or patient solicitation (both 0.3 percent). Relative to more common reasons for discipline such as physician negligence, problematic record keeping, and inappropriate prescribing (28.7, 14.9, and 13.5 percent, respectively), the frequency of misinformation conduct was exponentially lower. Compared with spreading misinformation to the community, patient-directed misinformation provided a basis for discipline three times more often. The frequency of disciplinary actions for any reasons related to COVID-19 care was also low (0.2 percent). In general, sanctions in misinformation actions were relatively light.

"The study results have serious policy implications, suggesting that the professional licensure system under current patient-centered frameworks may be institutionally ill-suited to combat the diffuse, intractable, and largely public health-related harms arising from physician-spread misinformation," Saver writes.

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