Every doctor writes notes. At some point in your career, someone will ask you for a report — an insurer, a lawyer, an employer, or a court — and the rules change. You are no longer simply documenting care; you are providing evidence.
In this episode of Aussie Med Ed, host Dr Gavin Nimon (Orthopaedic Surgeon) welcomes back Dr Mary Obele, Specialist Occupational and Environmental Physician (FAFOEM, RACP), to demystify the medical report. Medical reports sit at the heart of Dr Obele’s day-to-day work — treating doctor reports, independent medical examinations and permanent impairment assessments across the workers’ compensation and personal injury systems — and she explains what happens to these documents once they leave the doctor’s desk and enter the courts and tribunals.
Topics include:
· How a medical report differs from clinical notes
· Who requests reports and why
· The three main types defined: treating doctor’s report, independent and permanent impairment assessments
· Whole person impairment: what the percentage measures, what it does not, and why two 20% impairments do not equal 40%
· The AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment
· Training, accreditation and ongoing reaccreditation for permanent impairment assessors
· The standard structure of a medicolegal reportonduct and AI disclosure
· Where reports end up
· The expert witness’s primary duty to the court, and what examination-in-chief and cross-examination actually involve
· Practical take-home messages for a junior doctor or GP writing their first report
Suitable for GP CPD, junior doctor education, medical students, and any clinician or health professional who may be asked to write a report or attend as an expert witness.
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