Solomon Center Hosts Expert Panel on the Challenges of Health Misinformation
The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School hosted a wide-ranging conversation on the impact of healthcare misinformation on April 14.
The panel featured Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, distinguished professor of the practice in health policy and management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, former secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, and principal deputy commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Joanne Kenen, journalist in residence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a nationally known health journalist, who oversaw POLITICO’s health coverage for nearly a decade; and Claudia Haupt, a senior visiting research scholar at the Solomon Center and professor of law and political science at Northeastern University, where she codirects the Center for Health Policy and Law. The event was cosponsored by the Yale Health Law & Policy Society (YHeLPS).
Sharfstein and Kenen began by discussing the book they recently coauthored with Lymari Morales, “Information Sick: How Journalism's Decline and Misinformation's Rise Are Harming Our Health—and What We Can Do About It” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025). They highlighted various forces that have facilitated the growth of health misinformation, from the decline of trusted local news outlets and national health policy coverage to the speed with which inaccurate information can travel online. Haupt complemented their presentation by explaining that policymakers have relatively limited legal tools at their disposal when trying to rein in misleading public discourse.
After taking questions from the audience, the panelists concluded by reflecting on the steps individuals can take to limit the spread of misinformation, and by considering the policy implications of treating access to accurate information as a determinant of health.
About the Solomon Center
The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School is the first of its kind to focus on the intersection of law and the governance, practice, and business of health care. The Center brings together leading experts and practitioners from the public and private sectors to address cutting-edge questions of health law and policy, and to train the next generation of top health lawyers, industry leaders, policymakers, and academics.
