Penn Bioethics Seminar Series: Allison M. Whelan, JD, MA Bioethics

Regulating Misinformation by Government Clinicians

Allison M. Whelan, JD, MA Bioethics
Sharswood Fellow, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School; Associate fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania

Abstract: “Government clinicians”—medical professionals who hold government positions—can misuse their positions to spread health misinformation. This problem came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a complicated issue from a legal and regulatory perspective, and legal and non-legal methods to regulate and counteract health misinformation spread by government clinicians both present challenges and limitations. Combating health misinformation requires a multifaceted solution, which includes recognizing and reinforcing the professional and ethical obligations of both government and nongovernment clinicians to avoid spreading health misinformation and to vigorously and publicly correct and counteract health misinformation.

For more information, contact Mary Pham, Mary.Pham@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.