Medical Certificates and Physicians' Legal Duty

ABSTRACT

Physicians in Korea are nowadays confronted with unprecedented difficulties in practicing medicine-at every point of patient care, they should be prepared against any possibilities of medical disputes, among which ones related to medical certificates are not infrequent. Physicians issue medical certificates based on comprehensive findings from physical examinations and laboratory tests to prove the health status of the patients. Although physicians prepare medical certificates as private documents, they take effect as official documents. Hence medical certificates should be prepared with understanding of relevant health care-related laws to avoid unnecessary and avoidable medical disputes.