Medicine Meets Politics - Physicians, Professional Responsibility, and Public Speech
Course Overview
Presented by the Committee on Ethics, Grievances, and Professional Standards, the Ethics Forum alerts physicians to the ethical implications of issues that arise in daily practice and offers information on issues at
the intersection of ethics, medicine, and professionalism. The Ethics Forum at the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Annual Meeting recorded on May 10, 2022 explores public health disinformation disseminated by health care professionals and the efforts
to combat it.
Faculty
Rebecca Weintraub Brendel, MD, JD
Dr. Brendel is director of the Master’s Degree Program at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics, of which she is also an associate director. She bases her clinical work in psychiatry at
Massachusetts General Hospital where she is the director of Law and Ethics at the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior. She is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Rebecca W. Brendel, M.D., J.D. is the president-elect American
Psychiatric Association, chair of the Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Ethics, Grievances, and Professional Standards, and a member of the American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.
Dr. Brendel earned
her medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. She completed her psychiatry residency at Massachusetts General and McLean Hospitals, a forensic psychiatry
fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an ethics faculty fellowship at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard. She is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
Charles C. Dike, MD, MPH
Dr. Charles C. Dike completed medical school at Obafemi Awolowo University (Formerly University of Ife), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and psychiatric residency at All Birmingham Hospitals Psychiatric Training Scheme
(associated with the University of Birmingham), Birmingham, England. After additional psychiatric residency training at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. Dike completed a fellowship training in Law and Psychiatry at Yale University School
of Medical.
Dr. Dike obtained a Diploma in Clinical Psychiatry (DCP) from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ireland, and was awarded a membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists of England in 1998. He obtained a Masters in Public Health (MPH)
from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2004.
A past president of Connecticut Psychiatric Society, Dr. Dike is a Distinguished Fellow of American Psychiatric Association (DFAPA), Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists of England (FRCPsych), and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives
(FACHE). He is Chair of the Ethics Committee of the APA, former Vice President of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), Co-Editor of Behavioral Sciences and the Law Journal and past Editor of the Newsletter of AAPL. He is founding
Chair of the Diversity Committee and Forensic Hospital Services Committee of AAPL. He was Associate Program Director, Law and Psychiatry Fellowship Program (2012-2021) and is now Co-Division Director, Law and Psychiatry Division, Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Dike is also Medical Director, Office of the Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, after serving for years as Director of the state's forensic hospital facility.
Catherine S. May, MD
Dr. May graduated from Indiana University Medical School in 1980. She completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland Hospital a Psychiatry residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. She
is Board Certified in Psychiatry and Neurology and was Board Certified in Geriatric Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine. Dr. May practices general adult psychiatry in Washington, DC. She is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at George Washington
University School of Medicine. Dr. May has served on the Grievance Committee of the Washington Psychiatric Society and has served as Chair of the WPS Ethics Committee. Dr. May is a past president of the Washington Psychiatric Society and past Chairman
of the Board of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia. Dr. May has participated in disaster relief efforts delivering both psychiatric and primary care services in the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Haiti, Malawi, Kwazulu-Natal, and Lesbos. She
is the recipient of the Bruno Lima Award for Disaster Psychiatry and the Cyril A. Schulman Distinguished Service Award.
Intended Audience
This activity is designed for health care leaders, physicians, residents, other health care professionals and students in all health care professions.
Course Objectives
- Identify the ethical concerns that arise when physicians publicly disseminate public health disinformation.
- Describe the sources of ethical and professional guidance and potential interventions and ethics/ board actions that can result from the spread of disinformation by physicians.
- Appreciate the role of professional associations and state medical boards in addressing physician promulgation of public health disinformation
Course Fees
Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) Physician Member: $60.00
MMS Resident/Student Member: Free
Non-Member Physician: $135.00
Non-Members Resident/Student: $30.00
Allied Health Professional/Other: $48.00
Format & Estimated Time to Complete: Video/1.5
hours
Accreditation and Credit Information
Accreditation Statement
The Massachusetts Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education
for physicians.
AMA Credit Designation Statement
The Massachusetts Medical Society designates this internet enduring material for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1
Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
This activity meets the criteria for the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine for risk management study.
National Commission on Certification of Physicians Assistant
(NCCPA)
Physician Assistants may claim a maximum of 1.50 Category 1 credits for completing this activity. NCCPA accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.
Exam/Assessment: A score of 70% or higher is required to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
MOC Approval Statement
Through the American Board of Medical Specialties (“ABMS”) ongoing commitment to increase access to practice relevant Continuing Certification Activities through the ABMS Continuing Certification Directory, This activity has met the requirements as a Lifelong Learning CME Activity (apply toward general CME requirement) for the following ABMS Member Boards:
Allergy and Immunology
Anesthesiology
Colon and Rectal Surgery
Family Medicine
Medical Genetics and Genomics
Nuclear Medicine
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Plastic Surgery
Preventive Medicine
Psychiatry and Neurology
Radiology
Thoracic Surgery
Urology
Activity Term
Original Release Date: May 26, 2022
Review Date (s): N/A
Termination Date: May 26, 2025
System Requirements
Desktops/Laptops
Windows 10
Mac OSX 10.6 higher
Most modern browsers including:
IE 11+
Firefox 18.0+
Chrome latest version
Safari 12+
Mobile/Tablet
iOS devices beginning with OS version 10 or higher (includes, iPhone, ipad and iTouch devices)
