Gone are the days of manually writing your patient information, diagnosis, and treatment plans on paper. Technology has now allowed us to craft printable medical excuse notes and certificates that enhance your professional credibility and maintain patient privacy, all while providing safe and accurate care plans. All you need are easy-to-edit and pre-formatted notes that can be used when patients come in wanting an urgent care doctor’s note for missing work or a free doctor’s excuse note for having the flu.

11+ Best Doctor Excuse Note Examples

Choose from our collection of the example doctor’s excuse note templates that you can use for different medical practices, from dentist’s clinics, private practice offices, and even general hospitals.

1. Doctor Excuse Note Template

2. Blank Doctor Note Template

3. Children’s Clinic Doctors Note

4. Free Doctor Excuse Note Example

5. Return to Work Doctor’s Note

6. Sample Doctor Note Example

7. Simple Doctor Note Template

8. Free Doctor’s Note for Work

9. Doctor Excused Absence Note

10. Doctor Excuse Note for Disability

11. Doctor Medical Excuse Note to Employer

12. Printable Doctor Excuse Note

What Is a Doctor’s Excuse Note?

A doctor’s excuse note is a medical document that certifies a person’s consultation with and recommendations of a physician. It is also called a medical excuse letter or a medical certificate. A common usage of a doctor’s excuse note is after a physician’s evaluation, and he or she recommends that the patient stay at home and avoid going to work or school.

In the United States where 18- to 30-year-old adults take about five sick leaves per year, physicians and clinic administrators need to prepare ready-made doctor’s notes to make the doctor consultation process more efficient.

What Do You Write in a Doctor’s Excuse Note?

Given the importance of these documents, the doctor’s note must be written carefully and correctly by the practitioner. We have listed below the essential data that must be written in a doctor’s excuse note.

1. Patient Information – Specify the patient’s name, age, gender, weight, height, and other necessary patient or client information.

2. Diagnosis – Include the patient’s diagnosis (if the patient allows) and, sometimes, also include the patient’s signs and symptoms, which prompted such diagnosis.

3. Medical or Treatment Plan – Write the intended plan of care including the list of medications, recommended therapy, and follow-up regimen for the patient on the printable doctor’s excuse note.

4. Reason for Recommendation – State the reason why the patient must be excused from work or school. The most common reasons are for rest, relaxation, or isolation. This section is needed especially if you are making a doctor’s note for school or a doctor’s note for work absence.

5. Doctor’s Name and License Information with Signature – Fill out the physician’s name, designation, license number, along with the doctor’s signature.

When To Use a Doctor’s Excuse Notes

Doctor’s excuse notes are mainly used for the following reasons:

1. As Proof of Exemption

A medical note or a doctor’s excuse note can be used as a proof of exemption in performing tasks or activities in school or at work. This validity of this kind of medical note will depend on the patient’s condition. For example, if a patient just underwent knee surgery, he or she can be exempted from attending PE classes.

2. As Proof of Disability

Doctor notes may also be used to certify a person’s medical, mental, or physical disability. In some instances, this kind of doctor’s note will be used by the individual to get a permanent disability ID. Or, you can even get a real doctor’s note for a service dog.

3. As Proof of Acquiring an Illness

The most common usage of a doctor’s excuse note is as proof of a person’s illness or disease. In this type of doctor’s excuse note, the physician only states that the patient has acquired or is experiencing the signs and symptoms of a specific disease. This note can be used either as a work or school best doctor’s note. It can also be used after pregnancy and the patient wants to go back to work.

4. As Proof of Eligibility to Return to Work or School

If a patient wants to go back to work or school, a medical practitioner will create a doctor’s excuse note. In this document, the return to work doctor’s note will indicate that the patient was sick and is now permitted to go back to work or school.

How To Create a Valid Doctor’s Excuse Note

If you are a clinician, hospital administrator, or private practitioner, here are helpful tips on how to make a valid doctor’s excuse note template that you can use for every patient. You can also check doctor note for colleges.

1. Craft a Good Hospital or Clinic Logo or Letterhead

As with any good official document, you need to add a fitting medical doctor letterhead or logo design for your doctor’s excuse note. This simple action can lend credibility to your medical form.

2. Pre-Fill the Patient Information You Need

Make your life easier when filling out these medical notes by adding the most common patient information headings on the sample note. For example, you may add fields for the patient name, age, gender, diagnosis, or even weight. These fillable fields often come pre-formatted in ready-made medical note templates, just like the ones we’ve included in this article.

3. Provide Ample Space for the Treatment Plan

The most important content of any medical note is the physician’s recommendations or prescription for the patient. That is why you should leave out a large blank portion for this on your physician note designs.

4. Include Space for the Physician’s Name and License Information

If you are creating a doctor’s excuse note for your hospital or a community clinic, you may specify sections where the physician may write his or her name and license number. Do not print the doctor’s information on the blank form as some people may use the document as a fake doctor’s sick note.

5. Don’t Forget the Symbol of Medicine

The medical field’s official symbol is the Rod of Asclepius (??). Add this in your doctor’s note or medical form to make it look more professional. Do not confuse this symbol with the Caduceus symbol. The correct symbol for medicine features a rod with a snake coiling around it.

FAQ’s

As members of the medical profession, you may have seen it all. That one relative whom you caught printing a fake doctor’s note in a PDF file they’ve downloaded online and had the nerve to place your name as their pretend doctor for a pretend illness. Or had a patient come into your clinic requesting a Return To Work doctor’s note due to personal, not medical, reasons. Whatever the case, just save yourself the trouble by making your doctor excuse notes that only can fill out and stamp with your signature and license number. Have you downloaded a doctor’s note template yet?