CHEST addresses dissemination of misinformation

October 8, 2021

In response to the increasing spread of misinformation surrounding COVID-19, CHEST issued a statement encouraging members to take advantage of CHEST resources and to reflect accurate, scientifically proven information.

From the CHEST President:

The American College of Chest Physicians serves to provide resources and education to clinicians to help patients and advance medical practice. We encourage all CHEST members to use these resources to further themselves professionally and to provide the highest standard of care.

As a pioneer in the development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, CHEST advocates for and espouses the practice of evidence-based medicine. We recognize too that not all evidence is conclusive and that the application of judgment and shared decision-making with our patients is essential to practice, particularly in areas lacking robust research and data. However, where the risks and benefits are unclear, we call upon our community to remember one of medicine’s founding principles: First, do no harm.

In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, CHEST organized responses aimed at providing our members and others with information and guidance, based on our extensive expertise in disaster and pandemic management and upon the rapidly emerging COVID-19 literature. We established a COVID-19 task force to shepherd these activities and to ensure that we adhered to providing information on the highest available standards of evidence. We strive for CHEST’s learning materials to always be trustworthy, so we update information as newer and higher quality data become available. We are dispassionate, grounded in science, and unflinching in assessing the quality of evidence on which we base our educational materials.

CHEST is not a board-certifying body but a community of members who value continuous learning, peer guidance, and support. We acknowledge there are members who choose to follow clinical practices not supported by CHEST or indicated by the best available evidence. In some instances, these individuals use their affiliations and membership status within CHEST in a manner that can be construed falsely as an endorsement. We don’t condone this activity on any level and will address it as we deem necessary.

CHEST will continue to provide clinicians with the latest resources and training in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine to best care for their patients. As a community, we must strive to remain leaders in championing accurate and trusted guidance, grounded in science, among our peers, patients, and the public.

Sincerely,

Steven Q. Simpson, MD, FCCP
President, CHEST