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Tennessee's Board of Medical Examiners voted on to remove a that warned doctors spreading COVID-19 misinformation that they could be disciplined.

The 7-to-3 vote in favor of removing the policy came, , after State Rep. John Ragan (R) sent a number of letters to the board pressuring them to take down the policy. Further, in a separate conversation, he threatened to take action to dissolve the Board and reinstate new members if they did not comply, the Tennessean reported.

Diana Sepehri-Harvey, DO, a family physician in Franklin, Tennessee, said in a public comment following the vote: "We are physicians, first and foremost, physicians -- and what we need to uphold, above all, is our oath to first do no harm. And we should not, under that, give in to political pressure and let them dictate to us what we should or should not put on our website."

The policy had stated, in part: "Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license."

It was language adopted from a statement from the Board of Directors of the , and a stance shared by the American Medical Association, the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Family Medicine, the American Board of Pediatrics, and the American Board of Emergency Medicine, among others.

The , including by licensed medical professionals, has contributed to the persistence of the virus and unwillingness to get vaccinated -- and, recent , to COVID-19 deaths. Misinformation, a spokesperson from the is "verifiably false information," although the FSMB has not yet formally issued a definition.

"I was disappointed in that vote, and it happened so quickly," said Katrina Green, MD, an emergency physician in Lawrenceburg and Nashville who also gave a public comment in favor of keeping the policy public at the meeting. Comments were only heard after the vote took place. "I thought they would have let us have public comments before they voted on it. What if we could have swayed your vote?"

However, deleting the policy from the website does not mean that the policy itself would be rescinded, Phyllis Miller, MD, a member of the board emphasized. "What we voted to do is take the policy off our website, we have not rescinded that policy. [We are] charged to protect the health and safety of citizens in Tennessee. That's what our policy does."

But this move -- taking down the policy, but keeping it in place -- is unprecedented, said Grant Mullins, general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Health, at the meeting.

"We have an obligation to maintain a public record of what the board's rules and policies actually are," he said. "And I would urge you not to pursue that path. But I think there's been -- I certainly was confused. I think there's probably some other confusion about what the board just voted to do."

Mullins urged the board to take a second vote to either rescind the policy or to keep it, and the copy on the website, in place. The board declined, and voted to adjourn. As of press time, the policy was still on their website.

"If the board cannot exert its influence appropriately in the policing of our profession, we are losing our autonomy and the trust of our patients," said Green, in the conclusion of her public comment.

This move by the Board of Medical Examiners came on the heels of a special legislative session on Nov. 12 that ushered in a slew of new regulations aimed at weakening public health measures, including restrictions on vaccine mandates, enforcement of mask wearing, and proof of vaccination, restrictions on schools that enact COVID-19 measures, and on quarantine decisions.

This sweeping legislation included a new rule stating that state health boards must have their COVID-19 treatment-related rules approved by state lawmakers in the Government Operations Committee before they become official. Green, who has been following the COVID-19 misinformation rule developments, said she expected some tension at the next committee meeting on Dec. 15 surrounding the details of the new rule -- and whether or not the misinformation policy legally violates it.

The Board of Medical Examiners, Green said, called this "emergency meeting to address this website issue right before the Government Ops Committee meeting, where they're basically getting called into the principal's office to appease our state legislators," she said. "So it's a very interesting time to be in Tennessee."

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