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Mr. Reinhardt, suppose someone is tired of walking around with a mask every day because of Corona. How likely is this person to find a doctor who will issue a certificate?
Hopefully, this is rarely the case. In North Rhine-Westphalia there are currently seven professional law examinations in progress in medical associations, and corresponding cases were recently reported from Hamburg. There were certificates with fairly general reasons. There is a suspicion that they are certificates of convenience. We have a clear position on this and will not tolerate it under any circumstances.
It can be a problem for some people to have to wear a mask.
This may be the case for patients who have severe lung disease, for example. If you have severe asthma, it is usually not reasonable to also wear a mask. Or with certain heart diseases that are accompanied by shortness of breath. In the end, it depends on the individual case.
What is mental illness like?
“It is not a trivial crime”: Klaus Reinhardt is president of the German Medical Association.
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Image: dpa
Again, it is conceivable that someone with an anxiety disorder could panic if a mask covers their face. If a doctor carefully examines the patient and ultimately concludes that a mask is causing him unreasonable harm, a medical certificate is legitimate. But only then.
What Motivates Doctors to Issue Certificates of Convenience?
I think there are very different reasons. Some may comply and want to do the patient a favor with the certificate. Others may not believe that masks are really helpful in the coronavirus pandemic. Or they reject the measures that have been decided to combat the virus as excessive. There are also some such people in the medical profession.
So are these doctors following a political agenda?
Not necessarily, they don’t have to be conspiracy theorists. It can also be concluded that the number of infections and the effort involved are not in the correct relationship to each other. But that does not justify ignoring applicable law. Our medical professional law clearly regulates: Physicians must proceed with caution when issuing medical certificates. The rules on the mask requirement are anchored in statutory ordinances of the federal states or ordered on the basis of the Infection Protection Act, are binding and democratically implemented.
Doctors have accomplished a lot in the Corona crisis. Does it bother you that people question the reputation of the profession through false certificates?
It always bothers me when individual colleagues fail to fulfill their professional obligations. However, I believe that the number of medical professionals in question here is so small that it does not harm the medical profession.
How can medical associations proceed against doctors who issue medical certificates for no reason?
First of all, it should be clear to everyone that incorrectly and deliberately issued health certificates can also be a case for the prosecutor. By the way, not only the issuers of such certificates are subject to prosecution, but also those who make use of them. Medical associations examine these suspected cases from a professional perspective. If someone reports these cases to us, we can punish them. Cameras can reprimand doctors or impose a fine. In an extreme case, we may suggest that the competent authority verify the approval of the respective colleague. Then the person can no longer work as a doctor.
Is that an option in the case of fake certificates against the mask requirement?
If someone does that over and over again and doesn’t allow the criminal process to deter them from distributing fake certificates, that would be an option for me. The mask requirement serves to protect society from the spread of the virus. Anyone who undermines this with a fake certificate must feel the consequences. Issuing courtesy certificates is not a trivial crime.
