Thinking About Using A Fake Doctors Note? Think Again!
It’s a fairly ubiquitous pop culture trope. We probably can’t all have days off as wild as Ferris Bueller’s, but you’ve likely seen at least one story where the main character exaggerates or fakes an illness as an excuse to get out of school or work. Maybe you’ve even felt tempted to put yourself in their shoes sometimes to get out of a tough bind.
Doesn’t seem too terribly difficult, right? Just fire up Google to find the right document template, nail that primary care physician’s signature down pat, and won’t you just be good to go like that? Not exactly. Fake sick notes, for as easy as they seem to pull off, can carry profoundly grave social, ethical, and even legal consequences.
Fake doctor’s notes aren’t only unethical; they’re also just less excusable in a day and age when you can easily utilize virtual telehealth services to quickly obtain real doctor’s notes when you need them. We would strongly caution you against the temptation to fake sick day your way out of work.
The following guide will comprehensively explain why, and we hope it’ll help point you toward services providing real online doctor’s notes, such as Sesame Care.
Reasons Why You Should Not Use A Fake Doctors Note
Not convinced yet? We hope these tips will be able to effectively caution you away from the idea of faking a sick day to get out of work.
1. It is illegal. That should be sufficient reason alone to dissuade you away from the idea of forging a doctor’s note. The penalties for such an offense are grave, and perhaps even more severe than you would take for granted. Such punishments can be as severe as fines in the thousands of dollars, or even imprisonment for several years.
2. A forged signature just will not fly, period, especially if you aren’t a licensed physician. There are legitimate physical and mental health stressors that will impede one’s general wellness, as well as their ability to work. But in order to allow you necessary time off to recover, an employer will generally wish to see legitimate proof that your condition will impede your ability to work.
3. No two doctor’s notes (real or fake) are 100% alike. It’s entirely possible that formatting discrepancies between your healthcare provider’s real note and the fake note could get you busted. Such formatting issues are bound to undermine the legitimacy of your purported health concerns, and may potentially lead you to more trouble than it’s worth.
4. Your employer could also be a phone call away from busting you. Depending on where you live, they might have the right to call your healthcare provider and confirm the note’s validity. If a doctor’s note is deemed forged and invalid, it could violate HIPAA, additional workplace clauses, and fail to uphold your own HIPAA protections.
Real doctor’s notes require real authenticity and real reasons behind them. Contact reputable providers like Sesame Care to receive real doctor’s notes over the internet, pronto.
Do Fake Doctor's Notes Work?
There’s no guarantee that you’ll face any of the legal or social consequences we highlighted in the last section, nor that your employer will ever even bust you for faking or forging a doctor’s note. Even so, why even take the chance in the first place? What happens when you fake a doctor’s note?
Even if you manage to dodge serious social or legal trouble, you’re still likely to incur far more trouble than it’s worth if you attempt to fake or forge a doctor’s note. It’s illegal, unethical, and far too tedious to be worth doing. Don’t think so? Consider that:
- REAL online doctor’s notes are generally easier and faster to obtain, and most importantly, not illegal!
- Your supervisor(s) may wish to see further evidence of the symptoms of the condition you’re claiming to have, which is obviously a difficult thing to performatively fake. If you’re busted, you could potentially say goodbye to your living and livelihood.
- Even if you have gotten away with it before, what guarantees that you’ll get away with it again?
Are fake doctor’s notes illegal? Yes, and in a time when you can have a real digital doctor’s note delivered in a matter of minutes, they’re exceedingly tedious and unnecessary. If you’re still not sold, find what makes a real doctor’s note all the more worth it.
How Doctor’s Notes Work (The Real Ones)
An authentic doctor’s note (i.e. one not faked or forged) should include necessary information such as:
- The date and timeframe when you consulted your doctor
- A valid explanation for why you need to be out of work
- Recommended work limitations and/or medical accommodations
- Clarification if a period of absence from work is necessary
- Additional identifying information which might be relevant
Whether you’re receiving an online or offline doctor’s note, it’s crucial to ensure that all of the above information is clearly presented, legible, and verifiable for your employer. The most efficient and expedient way to have that done, of course, is via a real telehealth provider that would be able to provide you with an authentic doctor’s note.
Fake doctor’s note generators are often unreliable, untrustworthy, and unforthcoming about the sort of data and metadata they collect. In addition to the dishonesty of your forged note risking unwanted consequences for your employer, it’s entirely possible that dishonesty could come back around to carrying unwanted consequences for you.
Why take all the unnecessary risks with a fake doctor's note PDF, when you could just have a legitimate note sent directly to your inbox? Getting a legitimate online doctor’s note is safe, ethical, legal, and accounts for a myriad of essential credentials including:
- Timeframe
- Residence
- Phone number
- Email address
- Physician name
- Driver’s license
If you’d like to obtain a valid doctor’s note through an online telehealth provider like Sesame Care, here’s what you need to know.
How To Get A Doctor’s Note For Work
It’s 2022; you don’t even need to physically go to the doctor’s office to receive an authentic doctor’s note! So long as a licensed physician has assessed your condition and signed off on the note, you’re good to go!
At this point, it’s even less excusable to not have an authentic doctor’s note on hand for your employer, especially when the steps toward getting one can easily be summated down to:
- Signing up for a reputed telehealth provider
- Requesting a note from a licensed physician
- Consulting them about your condition
- Enjoying your time off!
It’s worth noting that certain conditions may warrant in-person examinations. For instance, if your heart health needs to be more thoroughly evaluated, that’s not an evaluation that could be accomplished over a Zoom call. Your employer might also wish to see a return to work note, indicating the expected timeframe when your symptoms should recover and it would be safe for you to come back.
Ask your employer in advance if they would wish to see two medical notes as opposed to one. Might sound tedious, but generally speaking, in many cases, in this post-COVID day and age, it’s easier than ever to obtain a doctor’s note from the comfort of your own home!
In addition to doctor’s notes, you can also receive additional copies of essential health paperwork through Sesame Care (when deemed appropriate), including things like:
- Medical records
- Referrals
- Lab orders
- Return to work notes
According to Sesame’s official FAQ page, “work notes or other paperwork requests must be shared before or at the time of service. Sesame is unable to facilitate paperwork requests after completion of the visit.”
Consult your doctor to find out if you can receive an online note via telemedicine. Even if your note requires an in-person appointment or evaluation, we would still strongly recommend going. It might seem tedious, but you know what else is tedious?
Thousands of dollars in fines and several years in jail for a Class 4 felony (per Territorial Law), a sentence which could’ve been avoided had you not unwisely decided to fake or forge a doctor’s note. A forged doctor’s note might seem like an easy route to convenience and being left alone at home…
But in actuality, if you’re caught, that faked doctor’s note could get you in a whole world of inconvenience. What seemed like an easy ticket to your house could easily turn into a ticket that gets you into the big house. Don’t want that, right? The good news is that you don’t need to have it!
Just avoid faking or forging any doctor’s notes in the first place, and you’ll avoid risking all these consequences in the first place! Easy as that; and then, whenever you need a real doctor’s note, just turn to the fine folks over at reputed, reliable online doctor providers like Sesame Care to have one sent straight to your inbox in minutes!
Printable Doctor's Note
Telehealth notes from licensed doctors at Sesame Care are also printable. You can print as many copies of legitimate work notes as necessary, and share them around with your employer as necessary. When it comes to work doctor’s notes, it’s foolish to fake and forge them, especially when it’s so simple and so easy to obtain the real deal.
Read our full Sesame Care review to better determine if their online doctor, pharmacy, therapy, and birth control services float your boat. If you like what they offer, you can sign up here to get started with 15% off your first general visit, as well as 50% off your first mental health appointment.
