Final answer:
The patient could be charged with slander, which is the oral dissemination of false statements that harm a person's reputation. Charges of malpractice or negligence do not apply in this context as they concern professional conduct and duty of care, respectively.
Step-by-step explanation:
The patient in the scenario could be charged with slander if the physician can prove the statements made by the patient are untrue and have damaged the physician's reputation. Slander involves spoken defamatory statements, while libel refers to written defamation. In order for a physician to succeed in a slander lawsuit, they must demonstrate that the patient's accusations were made publicly, the statements were false, and they resulted in damage to the physician's reputation or practice.
In medicine, malpractice refers to professional negligence or failure to provide proper medical care, which was not the case in this scenario. Negligence implies a breach of duty resulting in harm, which also does not apply to the patient’s actions. Defamation of character including both libel and slander is not covered by freedom of speech when statements are knowingly false or made with reckless disregard for the truth.