title: The GP - doctor or middle-man? A study of his paper work.
abstract: The convention of using medical certificates to assess benefit claims has grown over the years to a complex situation. The certificate serves as written testimony of the patient's state of health (be it illness, fitness or a need which is based on those grounds). While the practitioner is presumed to be serving only his patient, this study suggests that he is required to act as arbitrator in many situations that are unnecessarily defined as medical.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D004608:Eligibility Determination; D004651:Employment; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006077:Government Agencies; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013222:State Medicine; D013223:Statistics as Topic