Online Impersonation Highlights Importance of Verifying a Physician’s License

From the Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners

MONTGOMERY – An Alabama woman recently contacted the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners after becoming suspicious of someone she had been communicating with online who claimed to be an Alabama physician.

The person had created an elaborate social media presence portraying herself as a physician, including posts offering medical information and images purporting to show her working in medical settings and appearing on the covers of national and medical publications.

Something did not seem right to the Alabama woman, so she contacted the Board to find out whether the person was actually licensed to practice medicine.

Board investigators determined that she was not a licensed Alabama physician. Investigators also found evidence raising questions about whether images used by the account actually depicted the person operating it.

“This individual did exactly what we would encourage anyone to do – she checked,” said Dr. Max Rogers, Chair of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. “If someone represents themselves as a physician in Alabama, you can verify that information directly with the Board.”

The incident underscores the value of a resource available to every Alabamian: the Board of Medical Examiners’ free online Licensee Search.

By visiting albme.gov and selecting Licensee Search, users can search for a physician by name and find information that may include:

• Whether the physician’s Alabama medical license is active;
• The physician’s license number and the dates the license was issued and expires;
• Where the physician went to medical school;
• Certain licenses, registrations and certificates held by the physician; and
• Any public disciplinary or licensing actions.

The resource can be especially useful when someone is seeing a new physician, has moved to a new community, is communicating online with someone claiming to be a physician, or simply wants to learn more about a physician involved in their care.

The recent incident also illustrates how convincing an online identity can appear. Photographs, professional biographies, social media accounts and other information found online should not be considered a substitute for confirming that someone claiming to be an Alabama physician is actually licensed by the state.

“Giving patients easy access to accurate licensing information is an important part of what we do,” Dr. Rogers said. “It is one of the ways the Board provides transparency and helps protect Alabama patients.”

The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners licenses and regulates physicians and certain other health care professionals in Alabama as part of its mission to protect the health and safety of the public.

To verify a physician’s Alabama medical license or find additional publicly available information, visit albme.gov and select Licensee Search.