Physicians are speaking out against a new California law that could revoke their licenses for spreading COVID-19 "misinformation" during conversations with patients.
Critics say the law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 30, could discourage physicians from talking with patients about the rapidly changing coronavirus.
Mr. Newsom said the law "is narrowly tailored to apply only to those egregious instances in which a licensee is acting with malicious intent or clearly deviating from the required standard of care while interacting directly with a patient under their care," the Los Angeles Times reported Oct. 6.
However, it is unclear how these instances will be identified, or with what metrics they will be measured, according to the newspaper.
The Medical Board of California — or Osteopathic Medical Board of California, for osteopathic physicians — will investigate and discipline alleged violators, penalizing them with probation, suspension or license revocation.
Carlos Villatoro, a spokesperson for the state medical board, told the Times no two instances are the same, and each would be examined on a case-by-case basis.
Here are three physicians' opinions on the new law, as shared with the Los Angeles Times:
Eric Widera, MD. Professor of Medicine at University of California San Francisco: There's clear misinformation that's happening that's as black and white as you can get. But there's a lot of gray out there too.
Trust in one's physician is one of the most important tools we have when talking with patients about the importance of evidence-based interventions like COVID vaccines.
Leana Wen, MD. Emergency Physician and Health Policy Expert at George Washington University (Washington, D.C.): We should be very concerned about the chilling effect on medical practice and scientific discourse — and look out for copycat legislation from other states on other issues (i.e. reproductive care) that use politics in an attempt to censor physicians.
Monica Gandhi, MD. Infectious Disease Specialist at University of California San Francisco: I am concerned this bill will not take into account how quickly information changes on COVID-19.