Pino Monaco on behalf of GV Lawyers recently presented a seminar to the Australian Medical Association on the topic of Medical Records and Expert Medical Evidence.
Keeping medical records is an important function for medical practitioners but issues arise as to whether the records are owned by the patient or by the doctor, can a patient access their records, can the information in the records be released to third parties, how long does the doctor have to keep the records. These and many other issues were discussed at the seminar.
The giving of medical expert evidence is a demanding and daunting role for medical practitioners and there is a need to know what is expected and how to prepare. The duty of the doctor to the court is to give objective, unbiased and well reasoned evidence. However, the treating doctor’s evidence may not be in the best interests of the patient.
The AMA has high professional standards and sought the legal knowledge offered by Mr Monaco to conduct the seminar that was well attended by specialists, doctors and practice managers.