Health Department Follows Up on Chinese Medicine Practitioner Suspected of Improperly Issuing Sick Leave Certificates, Refers Case to Chinese Medicine Council and Police

The Department of Health, in response to media reports that 1 registered Chinese medicine practitioner is suspected of issuing sick leave certificates without consultation, today referred the case to the Chinese Medicine Council and the Police for criminal investigation and follow-up. The department said Chinese medicine practitioners must comply with the Reference Guidelines on Issuing Sick Leave Certificates and Attendance Certificates by Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioners, and that in the past Chinese medicine practitioners who issued misleading or false sick leave certificates were, after investigation and hearings, found guilty of professional misconduct and removed from the register.