J Korean Med Assoc.  2014 Jul;57(7):589-593. 10.5124/jkma.2014.57.7.589.

Medical certificate and confinement

• Han SI

• KMID: 2194894
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2014.57.7.589

Abstract

A press release recently reported a case in which legal decisions, regarding the stay of execution of a criminal sentence, and the extension of this stay, were made based on medical certificates, containing a definitive medical history, prepared and issued by a family doctor. Thereafter, the family doctor who prepared these medical certificates was accused of being guilty of a crime related to the preparation of a number of false medical certificates and has been subject to adjudication for this crime. Under the circumstances, having recognized that a medical certificate would be considered the significant basis for making a decision regarding the determination of damages of a civil nature and the determination of confinement in cases of a criminal nature, as well as of the stay of execution of sentences related to the restriction of physical freedom, a doctor is required to accurately describe a patient's medical status and other general facts when preparing a medical certificate, and if a doctor has cooperated with other specialists during the treatment of a specific disease, the medical certificate is required to honor and reflect such specialists' judgment. Furthermore, information regarding either a patient's previous treatment history or any complications developed in the future is to be included in a medical certificate only when these matters are directly related to the patient's current health status from a clinical perspective.

Keyword

Medical certificate; Confinement; Stay of execution of the sentence; Crime related preparation of false medical certificate

MeSH Terms

Crime
Criminals
Freedom
Humans
Judgment
Specialization

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