If you are contacted by a third party (such as an employer) and asked to verify information on a medical certificate, you should

verify the identity of the person making the request
Ask to see a copy of the relevant certificate
confirm whether the certificate is genuine and filled out by you or not.

No other information should be given without the patient’s explicit consent.

What if the patient changes the certificate?
If the review process reveals that the patient has changed the medical certificate, you will need to consider your continuing relationship with the patient after the abuse of trust. Each situation will need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. If you decide to end the doctor-patient relationship, advice can be found here .

Consider the basis for the medical certificate
If you are issuing a medical certificate for a specific legitimate purpose (such as supporting a patient’s application for benefits), you should make sure that you are familiar with your legal obligations under the relevant rules and laws.

Online Medical Certificate Services
You may not be able to meet your professional, legal and ethical obligations if you participate in an online medical reference service. In any situation where you are unable to conduct an in-person consultation with a patient seeking certification, we recommend caution.

However, in some circumstances, such as remote areas, a telemedicine consultation is appropriate.

A request from family or friends
Be very careful when a family member or friend requests a medical certificate from you. Good medical practice: The code of conduct for physicians in Australia clearly states that physicians should avoid treating their loved ones whenever possible. This includes close friends, those you work with, and family members.

The requirement to give a statement.
Clearly record the diagnosis that forms the basis of the medical note in your clinical notes. You may be asked to substantiate your statement or provide evidence to a court, tribunal, board, or other body about the medical statement and your assessment of the patient’s condition.

Fraudulent Certificates
To be reasonably certain that the illness/disability is genuine, ask questions and conduct an appropriate examination, and record this information in the patient’s medical records to support any certificate issued. If you believe that there are no signs of illness and you are unwilling to provide a certificate, write this down in the patient’s chart, outlining the medical history and examination results, and briefly explaining to the patient why a certificate cannot be issued.

It is not advisable to indicate an unreasonable length of absence on the certificate, especially if the patient is expected to want to use sick leave. You should objectively evaluate the patient before issuing a medical certificate. It may be more appropriate to issue a certificate for a limited period of time and offer the patient a second evaluation if incapacitation or illness persists.

Doctors can be an easy target for unscrupulous patients in such matters because they expect patients to tell the truth. Regardless of the patient’s motives, you should consider the appropriateness of issuing a certificate based on the information provided and your objective assessment of the patient’s condition. Your medical history should include evidence to support your decision.

Colluding with a patient to obtain a benefit through a medical certificate may result in serious disciplinary action or other legal action.

You should deny any request for a certificate unless you are certain that the illness or disability is genuine based on the information provided by the patient and your objective assessment of the patient’s condition.