Request for medical/sick note: Letter to employer
Note: The below content can be cut and pasted, and modified to suit the individual physician.
Dear Employer,
One of your employees visited me to obtain a medical note to satisfy your company’s absenteeism
policy.
Employers requiring employees to provide medical notes for missed time puts an added burden on
the health-care system.
Sick people – who otherwise wouldn’t see a doctor – spread germs to others in physician office,
walk-in clinic and emergency department waiting rooms. Other impacts include the person seeking
a note limits the time available to see sick patients and the physician spends more time each day
on paperwork – both decrease time spent on direct patient care.
I am seeking your support to help alleviate an unnecessary pressure on the health-care system by
changing your policy. Remove the requirement for your employees to obtain a medical note for
missed time. In most cases, the best remedy for a patient with an isolated illness (i.e.,
gastrointestinal virus, influenza or common cold) is to stay home, rest and drink fluids. Visiting a
doctor’s office or an emergency room for a medical note does not complement their recovery.
The request for a medical note is a non-insured service, not funded by Medical Services Insurance. I
find it difficult to charge the patient for a requirement demanded by the employer.
If you continue to require a physician to authorize an employees’ absenteeism, I will require your
employees to supply a written request from your organization for the medical note. Upon providing
the service I will invoice your company $_____ per medical note. This is a standard practice to fulfill
non-medically necessary services for third-party organizations.
As Canadians we are lucky to have our health-care system, but the ability to access its services in a
timely fashion is a growing problem. Health-care providers, business operators, governments and
individuals must work together to ensure its sustainability. I hope you will consider changing your
current absenteeism policy to help reduce the unnecessary burden on our health-care system and
improve access for all Nova Scotians.
Sincerely,
PHYSICIAN SIGNATURE