Fake doctors notes

Gillian

I know that this was a topic a few days ago but I can't find it, so this response goes here. We have a Medical Center connected to the university where I work. This morning I went over there and the office manager told me that someone had stolen a pad of doctors notes. The individual, who wasn't a patient, misspelled the doctors name when he or she gave it to the employer. The dirty deed came to light when the employer called the Medical Center to check on the discrepancy. The office manager said that this person probably got more than a week off. There you go - check the veracity of notes every once in a while and always if it appears that the doctor hasn't signed his or her name correctly.

ritaanz

Hey Gilligan: I doubt if a doctor would misspell his own name. However, when was the last time you could read it after they take Penmenship 101??

Gillian

I don't know, but there is a sharp HR person somewhere around where we who figured it out.

Renie

Is it legal to follow up with an employee's physician to verify notes? Just curious because we haven't checked notes before because we didn't think we were supposed to. Any thoughts?

Gillian

No, nothing illegal about checking. We don't check as a matter of course, but would if we had reason to be suspicious.

Don D

We check them out when they appear the least bit suspicious, such as the one from the doctor who advised the employee/patient "Has felmal porblems and will nesesitat sevral or more day absent, but not limited to." This is an actual quote. Something made us question it..... The 'but not limited to', is the precise language they tack on to every single union grievance, bar none. They think inclusion of that statement leaves the discussion open to any and everything under the sun.

sonny

REminds me of a union I once worked with that on EVERY (until we started refusing them) grievance wrote in reponse to "Resolution sought: To be made whole." Drove us to distraction. My friend who had polio and uses a wheelchair, wondered if he filed a grievance management would be able to make him walk again!

bsa

When we got a note from a family doctor for a reported dental absence we called. The doctor had no problem verifying that the note was not created by his office. (It had a 2-year old address and phone number!!) When the employee was called into the office, he admitted it. We terminated and he did not attempt to argue, he knew he was wrong.

bamahr

I faxed a suspicion doctors excuse, asking them to verify it was the doctor's signature. The receptionist would only say "yes". I still wonder if it was not the employee's girlfriend writing and verifying.

March22Collector

I know of an incident around my parts where a front desk clerk at a local Doc's office was quite the entrepreneur. Seems the Doc was signing several pads of slips at one time so that the front desk clerk could just give them to the patients when they were ready to leave. Well, she ended up charging $5 bucks a pop to people who would just come in and get a slip, with no Doc's appointment. Made a lot of money as I understand it. She got caught, of course, and is no longer employed there! :-)

Don D

I'm trying to decide who was the stupidest in this scenario, the clerk or the doctor.

WOCO Frank

We've terminated twice for fake doctor's notes. Both prescribed extremely light duty for pregnant employees. One was written on the back of a business card for an acupuncturist (!), the other was written on a clinic's prescription pad but was signed with the name of a dermatologist.