A University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (N.C.) study found that medical boards rarely discipline physicians for misinformation, despite growing concerns over medical misinformation spread.
The study, published Nov. 12 in JAMA Network Open, analyzed 3,128 publicly reported medical board disciplinary actions in the five most populous states. Data was collected from Jan. 1, 2020, through May 30, 2023, for California, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania, and from Jan. 2, 2020, to March 30, 2022, for Texas.
Researchers found that spreading misinformation was the least common reason for medical board discipline of physicians at 0.1%. The frequency of misinformation conduct was also far lower than the most common reasons for discipline, including physician negligence (28.7%), problematic record-keeping (14.9%) and inappropriate prescribing (13.5%).
In cases of discipline for misinformation, patient-directed misinformation was disciplined three times more often than spreading misinformation in the community.
Moreover, sanctions for misinformation actions tended to be "relatively light."
"These findings suggest that there is a serious disconnect between regulatory guidance and enforcement and that medical boards relied on spreading misinformation to patients as a reason for discipline three times more frequently than disseminating falsehoods to the public," the study authors wrote. "These results shed light on important policy concerns about professional licensure, including why, under current patient-centered frameworks, this form of regulation may be particularly ill-suited to address medical misinformation."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, health misinformation became rampant in social media. A few years later, the waves of misinformation are smaller, but continue to go viral. Recently, multiple videos circulated on TikTok from individuals claiming to be sick with a "mysterious virus."
"Social media failed to tackle repeated waves of health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's had a lasting effect in creating distrust of real medical experts," Callum Hood, head of research at the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said in the report.
The problem has caught the attention of health systems and state lawmakers alike who are working to reduce health misinformation online. Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Health and Amazon are using generative AI to counter health misinformation, score its threat to human health and generate responses tailored to different demographics and communities.
In New Jersey, lawmakers are considering a bill that would classify the spread of misinformation or disinformation to patients by healthcare workers to be considered professional misconduct subject to disciplinary action.