MMC to clamp down on doctors issuing false sick notes

The Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) is to toughen up its penalties on medical practitioners who issue sick notes without examining their patients.

This announcement comes following an increase in the number of complaints from employers and insurers regarding the accuracy of some medical certificates.

The MMC is warning that doctors who fail to comply with the rules (as outlined in the Medical Act 1971) will face severe disciplinary action. The MMC says doctors should not feel pressurised into reissuing sick notes to patients and reminds them that providing false certificates, either deliberately or through negligence, is unacceptable.