[Medical certificates issued to help the patient].
BACKGROUND
Medical certificates form the basis for important decisions in society, e.g. the issuing of a driver's licence or the granting of a disability pension. We wanted to know how often doctors deliberately write favourable certificates as seen from the patient's point of view, and why doctors do so.


METHODS
Questionnaire survey to a representative sample of 1605 Norwegian doctors. Doctors who answered yes to the question above gave information about the frequency of such writing of various types of certificates and their reasons for doing so.


RESULTS
1175 (73%) doctors responded. 39% confirmed deliberately writing in favour of their patients. For most types of certificates, a frequency of less than once a year was most common. 55% admitted writing favourably in disability pension certificates more than once a year, 69% so in referrals. The most common reasons given were securing just treatment and quick access to treatment. Many doctors emphasised that by answering yes, they meant that they were indeed writing expert judgments based on correct facts.


CONCLUSIONS
Medical certificates deliberately written in favour of the patient is not uncommon. This should lead to a critical discussion of the need for such certificates and medical diagnoses as a basis for resource allocation, rather than the tightening of control over the practice of doctors.
Gulbrandsen
Pål
P
HELTEF-Stiftelse for helsetjenesteforskning, Postboks 55, 1474 Nordbyhagen. palgul@heltef.no
Aasland
Olaf Gjerløw
OG
Førde
Reidun
R
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002568:Certification / Q000592:standards; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D009664:Norway; D010415:Pensions; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D040841:Resource Allocation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires