WILLOUGHBY HILLS – Should a Doctor Spreading Misinformation About Coronavirus Vaccines Lose His License? Would this violate the doctor’s right to freedom of expression? Shouldn’t doctors be able to give their patients advice and advice that differs from common medical opinion?
Every profession has ethical and legal requirements to uphold the integrity of the profession and public trust.
· If a lawyer lies to a judge, that lawyer faces severe penalties.
When a public school teacher instructs science students that the world was created exactly as it is in the Book of Genesis, then professional repercussions can be expected.
· If a police officer is found to have produced evidence to justify an arrest, the officer is likely to face criminal prosecution.
In the medical profession, too, there are professional and ethical limits that the doctor must respect. Consider these blatant violations:
A doctor forges a medical record to support his legal defense in the event of medical malpractice.
· A doctor accepts kickback for referral to a colleague.
A doctor performs unnecessary procedures to make money.
A doctor submits incorrect documents when applying for hospital privileges.
Such violations can very well endanger the professional position of the doctor and even his personal freedom.
Last July, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) stated that doctors who spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines risk disciplinary action that could include revoking their medical approval. The FSMB instructs that physicians are required to provide medical advice that is consistent with sound science and medical judgment.
The State Medical Board of Ohio requires any licensed physician to report malpractice, including a colleague who practices below the minimum standards. In fact, a doctor who fails to report suspected misconduct to the board can face disciplinary action.
Dr. Michael Kirsch is a gastroenterologist in the Cleveland area.
One would expect doctors who spread false information about COVID-19 vaccines to be ripe for sanctions. Remember the Ohio doctor who testified before an Ohio House health committee hearing last June that coronavirus vaccines magnetize recipients? In the doctor’s own words: “… you can put a key on your forehead. It sticks. You can put spoons and forks on it anywhere and they can stick … “
The Plain Dealer recently reported that this doctor’s medical license had just been extended for two years by the State Medical Board of Ohio, an automated process that doesn’t mean she won’t also be subjected to confidential disciplinary investigation. Let’s hope the board does the right thing.
Your testimony could make for a compelling Twilight Zone script, but it has no place in the medical landscape. This is not a free speech issue. It’s a question of competence.
Professional associations have rules and standards that must be enforced if they are to mean anything.
The scientific support for coronavirus vaccines is overwhelming – much more solid than for many other standard medical treatments that doctors prescribe on a daily basis. I wish my own advice to patients was over 90% effective with almost no risk of serious complications.
Millions of Americans are sick and hundreds of thousands have died from this virus. And there is more to come.
If a doctor medically advises against coronavirus vaccines, recommends ivermectin as a treatment, or promotes misinformation that endangers the health of patients and the community, then please sell your snake oil elsewhere. You took an oath when you became a doctor. And anyone who deliberately violates the clear standards of the medical profession should be held accountable.
We doctors must denounce anyone who spreads deception and misinformation that threatens the health of everyone, even if it is our own.
Dr. Michael Kirsch practices gastroenterology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The views expressed here are his personal opinions and do not reflect the views of CCF.
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source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/26/doctors-spreading-misinformation-on-covid-19-vaccines-should-face-repercussions-michael-kirsch/
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