MedPageToday An article in the South Carolina Post and Courier in early 2022 recounts how a patient levied grave accusations against his physician. The doctor was accused of persistently trivializing the dangers of COVID, recommending hydroxychloroquine as treatment, and purportedly alleging that the vaccines were concocted as a sinister plot to thin the global population. The patient, still riddled with uncertainty and deeply unnerved, sought the intervention of South Carolina’s medical board. He urged them to adopt a definitive stance on the matter. His rationale: if the physician’s statements hold water, the public has a right to be informed. Conversely, if the doctor’s assertions are baseless, he may be breaching the Hippocratic Oath’s fundamental principle, “do no harm,” by dissuading patients from availing themselves of a potentially life-saving vaccine. However, when approached for commentary regarding the patient’s case, the medical board refrained from making any statements, invoking confidentiality regulations.
Meanwhile, California took legislative action to protect patients from COVID misinformation and disinformation by physicians. On Feb. 14, 2022, state Assembly Member Evan Low (D) introduced Assembly Bill 2098 (AB2098) backed by (now former) state Sen. Richard Pan (D) and the California Medical Association. The bill proposed to categorize such false information acts as unprofessional conduct, rendering physicians accountable for disciplinary action.
Opponents of AB2098 argued that it would impede physicians’ First Amendment rights and limit academic freedom. They contended that groundbreaking scientific discoveries often emerged from challenging conventional wisdom. This viewpoint is plausible if one is persuaded — as critics of AB2098 assert — that the bill would be applicable to physicians’ discourse on topics that are genuine subjects of scientific contention. For example, Leana Wen, MD, expressed such concerns in her September 2022 Washington Post op-ed “California’s anti-misinformation bill is well intentioned. But it’s a bad idea.” She noted ongoing scientific debates, such as COVID booster schedules: “Is it really right for physicians to be threatened with suspension or revocation of their license for offering nuanced guidance on a complex issue that is hardly settled by existing science?”