No Physicians Disciplined for COVID Falsehoods

Despite a national call to sanction doctors who spread COVID-19 misinformation, a MedPage Today investigation found that not one of 20 physicians who’ve peddled such falsehoods has been disciplined by their state licensing agency for doing so.

That’s not to say that complaints haven’t been filed, or that investigations haven’t been launched. These elements are confidential in most states, including the 10 contacted by MedPage Today who license the physicians.

But that means physicians who have advanced false COVID information — including Simone Gold, MD, JD; Scott Atlas, MD; Joseph Mercola, DO; Lee Merritt, MD; Sherri Tenpenny, DO; and Stella Immanuel, MD — are free to continue to misinform their patients and the public, even as the Delta variant surges.

“Our statement is a reminder to physicians that words have consequences and during a public health emergency like COVID-19, those words can mean life or death for patients,” Joe Knickrehm, vice president of communications for the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), told MedPage Today via email.

Earlier this month, the FSMB said in a statement that physicians who intentionally spread misinformation or disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines could be disciplined by their state medical boards and may have their licenses suspended or revoked.

While their statement mentioned vaccines specifically, Knickrehm said in his email that the policy “refers to any misinformation or disinformation that is being generated or spread by a physician whether it be in a private clinical encounter or shared publicly.” He also noted that FSMB issued a statement in October 2020 about wearing masks during patient care in response to a surge in complaints about providers who refused to wear them.

Subsequently, at least two physicians were disciplined by their state medical boards for not wearing masks, or wearing them improperly, while seeing patients: Steven LaTulippe, MD, of Oregon, and Anthony Farina Jr., MD, of Rhode Island.

One California physician identified by MedPage Today surrendered his license in February after he apparently spread falsehoods about COVID-19.

Thomas Cowan, MD, had been under a disciplinary order and on probation for 5 years regarding a 2017 accusation of prescribing unapproved drugs to a patient with breast cancer.

The San Francisco internist claimed in a viral YouTube video that 5G networks caused COVID-19.

FSMB doesn’t have the authority to sanction physicians; that’s up to the state boards. Even then, most complaints and investigations remain confidential until a board files a formal accusation, or posts a resolution. It can take years for a disciplinary action to move through the system, and in the meantime, physicians can still practice.

Following are the responses — or lack thereof — from the 10 states contacted by MedPage Today about their respective licensees. Evidence of licensees’ COVID-19 misinformation is hyperlinked to their names below.

California: Simone Gold, MD, JD; Scott Atlas, MD; Dan Erickson, DO; Artin Massihi, MD; Jeffrey Barke, MD; Jennings Ryan Staley, MD; Brian Tyson, MD

Carlos Villatoro, public information officer for the Medical Board of California, said in an email to MedPage Today that “publicly spreading false COVID-19 information may be considered unprofessional conduct and could be grounds for disciplinary action. The Board will review complaints it receives about its licensees on this topic, as it does with all complaints. To date, no accusation has been filed against a licensee regarding this issue.”

Idaho: Ryan Cole, MD

Yvonne Dunbar, counsel for the Idaho State Medical Board, told MedPage Today in an email, “Neither the Idaho Medical Practice Act nor the applicable administrative rules provide a basis for the Board to discipline licensees for statements made during a conference, to the media, or in any other public setting.”

However, she said the board “does have authority to investigate and possibly discipline its licensees for statements or behaviors which transpire in a health care setting … if it is established that they: ‘Engag[ed] in a pattern of unprofessional or disruptive behavior or interaction in a health care setting that interferes with patient care or could reasonably be expected to adversely impact the quality of care rendered to a patient. Such behavior does not have to have caused actual patient harm to be considered unprofessional or disruptive.'”

Illinois: Joseph Mercola, DO

In a statement, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said that if the agency “determines a licensee committed violations against the Act that regulates their profession, an appropriate course of action will be taken. Complaints filed with and investigations undertaken by IDFPR are confidential, unless and until a public complaint or discipline is issued by the Department.”

Indiana: Dan Stock, MD

Eric Sears, a spokesperson for the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, said that while the licensing board has yet to receive any complaints about doctors disseminating fraudulent or misleading COVID-19 information, if one of those cases come before the board, they will take the “appropriate actions” against those spreading misinformation or disinformation.

Kentucky: Rand Paul, MD

No response as of press time.

Nebraska: Lee Merritt, MD

Olga Dack, deputy director of communications for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said, “if an actionable complaint under the Uniform Credentialing Act is received by the Department, it will be investigated. If the allegations are determined to be true, the case is referred to the Attorney General’s Office. The Attorney General’s Office decides whether or not disciplinary action will be taken.”

New York: Lawrence Palevsky, MD

No response as of press time.

North Carolina: Rashid Buttar, DO

If the North Carolina Medical Board has information that a licensee may be spreading false or misleading information about COVID-19, it would investigate, said communications director Jean Fisher Brinkley. “Decisions about possible regulatory action would be based on the evidence gathered and, specifically, whether the Board has evidence that a violation of law or professional ethics occurred, a process that is consistent with the FSMB’s statement.”

She added that the board has received some inquiries regarding doctors spreading false information, but can’t say if they resulted in a complaint.

Ohio: Sherri Tenpenny, DO

The State Medical Board of Ohio considers a complaint to be any allegation of licensee misconduct. Grounds for board disciplinary action — including “making a false, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading statement in relation to the practice of medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, podiatric medicine and surgery, or a limited branch of medicine” — are described in Ohio regulations, wrote Jerica Stewart, the board’s communication and outreach administrator.

Texas: Peter McCullough, MD; Stella Immanuel, MD; Richard Urso, MD; Angelina Farella, MD

The Texas Medical Board said in an emailed statement that it “may investigate complaints for false, misleading, or deceptive advertising, which could include assuring a permanent cure for an incurable disease.”

Shannon Firth, Kara Grant, and Jennifer Henderson contributed to this report.