A contentious bill allowing medical boards to sanction doctors who are thought to have misled patients about COVID-19 was signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom (D). The new law might result in the cancellation of the medical licenses of California doctors and surgeons who don’t follow the rules.
Assembly Bill 2098 was enacted into law by Newsom on Friday.
According to “Assembly Bill 2098, it is considered unprofessional behavior for doctors and surgeons to spread false or misleading information about COVID-19 to a patient who is under their direct care,” according to a statement from Newsom.
Only “consultations directly related to COVID-19 treatment within a direct physician-patient relationship” are covered by AB 2098, according to Newsom.
The bill’s wording is as follows:Â “The public’s trust has been undermined, and many lives are now in grave danger as a result of the disinformation and misinformation being propagated concerning COVID-19 vaccinations. According to major news sources, some of the people spreading false information about the COVID-19 vaccines are qualified medical experts.”
The Federation of State’s Health Boards, which represents the state medical and osteopathic regulatory panels nationwide, is referred to in the law.
The California bill issues a threat, stating that “physicians have a duty to offer their patients with correct, science-based information” and that “physicians who engage in the transmission of COVID-19 vaccination disinformation or misinformation risk losing their medical license.”
“The measure states that current law calls for the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to license and oversee doctors and surgeons.”
According to AB 2098, “This law would define as unprofessional conduct the spreading of misinformation or disinformation relating to the Severe acute respiratory-CoV-2 coronavirus, or “COVID-19.”
The minimum punishment for unprofessional behavior in California is five years of probation, and the highest punishment is the loss of a doctor’s medical license, according to the Medical Board of California.
According to AB 2098, “it is improper behavior for a doctor or surgeon to spread inaccurate or misleading information about COVID-19, including information about the virus’s nature and hazards, its treatment and prevention and the creation, safety, and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations.”
