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| The attitude of the Court of Cassation and the Order of Physicians regarding the consent of the patient frequently created problems concerning the validity of medical certificates delivered directly to a third party, e.g. an insurance company, at the request or with the consent of the patient. When a legal dispute arose between the insurer and the insured, e.g. because the insurer in light of a medical certificate refused a benefit, the judge would consider this certificate as void because it had been delivered to the insurer notwithstanding the duty of medical secrecy. The fact that the insured had signed an insurance policy that contained a clause releasing his physician of this duty was irrelevant because such a clause was in itself void. The Law of 25 June 1992, Moniteur belge, 20 August 1992, contained in Article 95 a legal obligation for the treating physician to deliver a medical certificate to the physician of an insurance company concerning the cause of death of the patient provided the patient had consented to this deliverance during his life. The law on the rights of patients has amended this article and replaced the obligation by a mere possibility.
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