Spreading Medical Misinformation -- Uncommon Cause of Medical Board Sanction

Background: Particularly during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, many physicians and other individuals have been accused of spreading medical misinformation. Generally, each state's medical board is responsible for protecting the public against incompetent, unprofessional, or poorly trained physicians and have wide discretion in pursuing remedial action against involved physicians. Although a state's medical practice act generally does not define misinformation as an unprofessional act, medical boards across the United States have been encouraged to discipline physicians thought guilty of such. Objective: To compare the level of professional discipline of physicians for spreading medical misinformation relative to discipline for other offenses. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Publicly available data from 2020 through 2023 from the 5 most populous U.S. States (California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania). Results: 3128 disciplinary proceedings occurred in the 5 states more...