Medical Examination of the Living and of the Dying, for the Purpose of Evidence.
All persons examined physically must be informed of, and consent to, the purpose and possible legal consequences.
Never take directions from a third person (e.g., police, magistrate, employer).
If a further examination may be necessary (e.g., under an anæsthetic), that fact should be stated.
Witnesses should be present, especially in the case of the examination of females.
Do not send written certificates to third persons as to the result of the examination, unless (1) In an open envelope, having read the certificate to the patient who takes it to its destination; (2) After having received the written consent of the patient so to do.
The payment of the fee by a third person does not absolve from the rule of professional secrecy.
The symptoms and feelings of a patient are sometimes admitted as (hearsay) testimony from a medical witness, especially where the former is dead. Letters from a patient to a medical man containing such statements are not allowed.
A confession (which must be quite voluntary) or a dying declaration (from the lips of a victim of homicide convinced of impending death) made in the hearing of a medical man should be noted down at once, word for word, and, in the absence of a magistrate, signed by all persons present. Should death be imminent after a criminal assault (which includes abortion), the medical man should urge the victim to make such a dying declaration.
If a patient is sent to gaol or an asylum, communicate at once, but privately, with the medical officer should you know of any mental or physical abnormality.