The initial medical certificate (CMI) is a medico-legal document of great importance. Writing CMIs is a frequent act in emergency medicine. In 2011, the Haute Authority of Medicine (HAS) published good practice recommendations concerning the writing and content of these certificates. Nevertheless, this practice faces a difficult reality in the emergency services. The aim of this study was to analyze the writing quality of CMIs in terms of compliance of all the criteria collected with respect to HAS recommendations.

This was a retrospective study, evaluating professional practices over a period of two years in Ben Arous ED. We analyzed CMIs written by EPs. The certificates were subjected to a critical reading to begin a comparative study of the quality of writing of these certificates with the HAS recommendations using a criteria grid relating to the theoretical content of the certificates.

207 CMIs were analyzed (Acts of violence 88%, work accidents 12% and AVP less than 1%). The medical writers were mainly represented by general practitioners (98%). Not all of the CMIs complied with writing recommendations. The identity of the physician, the identity of the patient, the date of the examination and of the facts, the nature of the lesions, the handwritten signature of the doctor and the stamp were mentioned in more than 95% of the CMIs. The presence of CNOM registration number, the profession, the address and the number of the national identity of the patient, the place of the facts, the medical history and the previous condition of the patient were absent in more than 95% of the CMIs. The duration of the ITT was written in full in 36% of the cases.

The study revealed insufficiencies in the quality of CMI drafting written by EP. Specific training is underway to improve certificate redactions.