Public tool _ Colombia _ updated September 18, 2026

prescription, certificate or medical history?

The matrix separates five documents that are often confused with talking about telemedicine and medical cannabis. To sum up who can issue them, what they credit and especially what they cannot guarantee.

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What do you need to document?

Choose an administrative purpose for general guidance. Do not enter or share medical details here.

Document purpose

General guidance: the receiving organisation sets its requirements and the professional decides what can be issued. This does not replace medical evaluation or legal advice.

Ask about a document requirement

Applicable Comparison

Document comparison

On mobile, read each document as a card. On larger screens, compare all columns.

Prescription

Who issues it: A professional legally authorized to prescribe, after assessing the patient.
What it proves: A specific treatment order: medicine or preparation, concentration, route, dose, frequency, duration and other applicable details.
What it does not prove: It is not a universal permit for possession, cultivation or travel. It does not guarantee dispensing or acceptance by another authority.
Validity: The date and validity stated by the prescriber and any additional rules for the medicine, especially if it is a controlled substance.
Common use: Pharmacy services, continuity of care and the patient.

Medical certificate

Who issues it: A doctor who can substantiate the clinical fact or medical act being certified.
What it proves: A genuine health condition, treatment or medical act, for an identified purpose.
What it does not prove: It cannot be written to order, does not replace a prescription and does not require police, airlines, employers or foreign authorities to accept it.
Validity: It relates to the facts, date and purpose stated. There is no universal validity period.
Common use: The person or organization that needs to verify that specific fact.

Record of attendance

Who issues it: The person responsible for care or its administrative support, depending on the service.
What it proves: Usually confirms that an interaction took place, with details such as its date, format or professional.
What it does not prove: It does not automatically prove a diagnosis, fitness, incapacity, treatment or prescription.
Validity: It documents an event on a specific date. It does not, by itself, extend the validity of a treatment.
Common use: The patient or an organization requesting proof of attendance, if that is the actual requirement.

Medical record or copy

Who issues it: The provider or professional responsible for recording and safeguarding the care provided.
What it proves: The confidential chronological record of health conditions, medical acts, decisions and procedures.
What it does not prove: It is not a general permit and should not be shared in full when a less intrusive document is sufficient.
Validity: It is a continuing record. A copy reflects the information available when it was issued.
Common use: The patient and, with authorization or a legal basis, other people involved in their care.

Remote guidance summary

Who issues it: The healthcare staff who provided remote guidance or the person responsible for the channel.
What it proves: The content or summary of remote guidance when the user requests a copy or summary.
What it does not prove: It does not turn remote guidance into a medical consultation, diagnosis, prescription or medical certificate.
Validity: It reflects a particular communication, its date and scope.
Common use: The person who received the guidance.

Document	Who issues it	What it proves	What it does not prove	Validity	Common use
Prescription	A professional legally authorized to prescribe, after assessing the patient.	A specific treatment order: medicine or preparation, concentration, route, dose, frequency, duration and other applicable details.	It is not a universal permit for possession, cultivation or travel. It does not guarantee dispensing or acceptance by another authority.	The date and validity stated by the prescriber and any additional rules for the medicine, especially if it is a controlled substance.	Pharmacy services, continuity of care and the patient.
Medical certificate	A doctor who can substantiate the clinical fact or medical act being certified.	A genuine health condition, treatment or medical act, for an identified purpose.	It cannot be written to order, does not replace a prescription and does not require police, airlines, employers or foreign authorities to accept it.	It relates to the facts, date and purpose stated. There is no universal validity period.	The person or organization that needs to verify that specific fact.
Record of attendance	The person responsible for care or its administrative support, depending on the service.	Usually confirms that an interaction took place, with details such as its date, format or professional.	It does not automatically prove a diagnosis, fitness, incapacity, treatment or prescription.	It documents an event on a specific date. It does not, by itself, extend the validity of a treatment.	The patient or an organization requesting proof of attendance, if that is the actual requirement.
Medical record or copy	The provider or professional responsible for recording and safeguarding the care provided.	The confidential chronological record of health conditions, medical acts, decisions and procedures.	It is not a general permit and should not be shared in full when a less intrusive document is sufficient.	It is a continuing record. A copy reflects the information available when it was issued.	The patient and, with authorization or a legal basis, other people involved in their care.
Remote guidance summary	The healthcare staff who provided remote guidance or the person responsible for the channel.	The content or summary of remote guidance when the user requests a copy or summary.	It does not turn remote guidance into a medical consultation, diagnosis, prescription or medical certificate.	It reflects a particular communication, its date and scope.	The person who received the guidance.

Before applying for a support

Start with the fact that you have to credit.

01Ask the receiving organization what the official requirement is and why it is requested.
02He requested the least invasive document to prove that fact and his medical history contained sensitive information.
03Check name, date, authority, signature or validation and registration mechanism as appropriate.
04Do not edit, cut or use the document to say something different from what you say.

Official external sources

Check the source, not just the summation.

They're independent sources consulted. The inclusion of them does not involve affiliation or collateral to CAMED.

Civil ServiceAct 23 of 1981 - Medical ethics, medical history and certificates Civil ServiceDecree 1171 of 1997 — contents of a medical certificate Ministry of HealthResolution 1995 1999 - Medical History Management Ministry of HealthResolution 2654 of 2019 - telemedicine and telemedicine SUIN-JuriscolDecree 2200 of 2005 - characteristics of limitation

How to quote this tool

CAMED. "prescription, certificate or clinical history: comparator." Version 18 September 2026. https://camed.com.co/herramientas/documentos-cannabis-medicinal-colombia

Flood before making a decision

Read the complete guide about attestation, medical statement, prescription and clinical history or knows our editorial policy.