Certification - Chargeable
GPs receive many requests for reports from government organisations or other third parties. Remember that unless they are specified in legislation (e.g Death Certificates ) or NHS Regulations or contracts (e.g. Med3 Certificates) you do not have a contractual obligation to fill in these reports and they will attract a fee. The fee needs to take into account your professional time and expertise along with an administration charge. Bear in mind there are a considerable number of administrative, financial and legal duties which go along with the professional processing of any request for a report. There may also be archiving costs arising from generating one.
In light of this, an appropriate administration charge is not an unreasonable request, before the professional time and expertise is also taken in to account in producing the report. Assuming the patient doesn't need to be seen clinically, and that they don't request access to the report or the notes (as is their right under various legislation) use our checklist to make sure you and your practice staff are following the correct process.
BMA Employment Fees finder - Fees for primary care work - link to fees and guidance on the following:
- Asbestos medical examinations
- Benefits and work for Atos
- Certificates medico-legal
- Certificates GPs cannot charge for
- Charging your patients
- Childminder health forms
- Collaborative arrangements
- Consultant contract - guidance on fee paying work
- Coroners
- Cremation
- Debt recovery
- Driver Licensing (DVLA)
- Emergency treatment under the Road Traffic Act
- Family planning work
- Firearms
- First aid education
- Fitness certificates
- Forensic physicians
- Gender recognition work
- Government agreed fees for GPs
- Government agreed fees for Consultants
- GP contract - guidance on fee paying work
- GP guidance on non-NHS report fees
- Insurance work
- Junior doctors contract - guidance for fee paying work
- Legal Aid - victims of domestic abuse
- Legal Aid - expert witness
- Locum fees advice for locums and employers
- Medical records - access and copying fees
- Medico-legal fees
- Mental health work
- Organising your finances
- Post-mortem fees
- Safeguarding adults and children - reports and case conferences
- SAS doctors contract - guidance for fee paying work
- Seafarer examinations and medical referee fees
- Travel vaccinations
- Tribunal appointments - medical members
- VAT and medical indemnity
- Whiplash
- Work which has no set fee
- Why do GPs sometimes charge fees?
Further LMC links
