The state board that oversees licensed Tennessee physicians voted during a special session Tuesday to remove a policy from its website stating that physicians who create or spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation could face disciplinary action – but members said the policy itself still stands.
During a Sept. 21 meeting, the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners – a 12-member board that’s appointed by the governor and responsible for disciplining physicians who violate practice standards – voted to adopt a policy based on a statement from the board of directors of the Federation of State Medical Boards, which is supported by leading medical organizations and says licensed physicians “have an ethical and professional responsibility to practice medicine in the best interests of their patients and must share information that is factual, scientifically grounded and consensus-driven for the betterment of public health.”
The board’s policy said that Tennessee physicians who “generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation” risk suspension or revocation of their medical licenses in the most extreme cases.
Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners President Dr. Melanie Blake, a Chattanooga-based internist, said the board called a special meeting Tuesday “out of an abundance of caution” based on a new state law signed by Gov. Bill Lee on Nov. 12 that states any disciplinary process implemented by a health-related board “regarding the dispensing or prescribing of medication for COVID-19” must go through the formal rule-making process.
Francine Baca-Chavez, deputy general counsel for the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners, told the board Tuesday that “there was nothing wrong or erroneous with the board adopting such a policy,” but the board should decide whether to remove the policy from its website given the new law.