The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine made a very public example of Dr. Gary Brockington, saying it has “zero tolerance” for sexual misconduct between a physician and a patient (“Board revokes Faulkner cardiologist’s license after affair,” Metro, Nov. 24). Unfortunately, the board lacks this seemingly righteous indignation when it comes to physicians whose misconduct harms and injures patients and their families.

The board of seven members, five of whom are physicians themselves, is a self-governing body appointed by the governor to serve the public by ensuring that only qualified physicians are practicing medicine. In keeping with its mission, this board should employ the same standard it used in judging and disciplining Brockington when a physician has been found guilty of malpractice by a jury in a court of law, especially when this information is a matter of public record.