Message to providers from administration
Medical Board (ABFM, ABIM, ABP & ABEM) Statements on COVID Misinformation
Important: Joint Statement from ABFM, ABIM & ABP on Dissemination of Misinformation
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), which supports its member state medical licensing boards, has recently issued a statement saying that providing misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine contradicts physicians' ethical and professional responsibilities, and therefore may subject a physician to disciplinary actions, including suspension or revocation of their medical license. We at the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) support FSMB's position. We also want all physicians certified by our boards to know that such unethical or unprofessional conduct may prompt their respective board to take action that could put their certification at risk.
Expertise matters, and board certified physicians have demonstrated that they have stayed current in their field. Spreading misinformation or falsehoods to the public during a time of a public health emergency goes against everything our boards and our community of board certified physicians stand for. The evidence that we have safe, effective and widely available vaccines against COVID-19 is overwhelming. We are particularly concerned about physicians who use their authority to denigrate vaccination at a time when vaccines continue to demonstrate excellent effectiveness against severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
We all look to board certified physicians to provide outstanding care and guidance; providing misinformation about a lethal disease is unethical, unprofessional and dangerous. In times of medical emergency, the community of expert physicians committed to science and evidence collectively shares a responsibility for giving the public the most accurate and timely health information available, so they can make decisions that work best for themselves and their families.
Warren Newton, MD, MPH
President and CEO
American Board of Family Medicine
Richard J. Baron, MD
President and CEO
American Board of Internal Medicine
David G. Nichols, MD, MBA
President and CEO
American Board of Pediatrics
ABEM Statement about ABEM-Certified Physicians Providing Misleading and Inaccurate Information to the Public
Aug 26, 2021
The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) supports public health measures that decrease the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the risk of severe illness such as the appropriate use of face masks and vaccination for eligible people.
ABEM’s Code of Professionalism requires that physicians “Refrain from conduct that the Board determines, in its sole judgment, to be sufficiently egregious that it is inconsistent with ethical behavior by a physician.”
Providing misleading and inaccurate information to the public can be sufficiently egregious and inconsistent with the ethical behavior of a physician who is expected to do no harm .
ABEM recognizes that there are numerous medical issues on which physicians will have legitimate differences of opinions – and that ABEM-certified physicians have every right to express their opinions on those issues. However, making public statements that are directly contrary to prevailing medical evidence can constitute unprofessional conduct and may be subject to review by ABEM.
Should ABEM determine that a physician is promulgating inaccurate information that is contrary to the interests of patients and that adversely impacts public safety, ABEM may withdraw or deny certification for that physician.
Physicians seeking ABEM certification and physicians who are ABEM certified are encouraged to read and are expected to comply with ABEM’s Code of Professionalism.