A medical log was a form of log entry depicted by a medical officer. It served as a record of medical cases for the officer's own benefit and that of future physicians.
Doctor Leonard McCoy kept medical logs during his service as chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise. His logs also contained personal thoughts or concerns on a situation or people. (TOS: "A Private Little War", "Return to Tomorrow", "The Enterprise Incident"; TAS: "The Ambergris Element")
The Doctor of the USS Voyager also kept medical logs, including one in which he reported his conclusion that Chakotay was not the father of Seska's child. (VOY: "Basics, Part II").
Starfleet Chief Medical Officers had the power to relieve Starfleet personnel from their duties, even a superior officer. They were required to log such actions in the official medical log and to have proper medical documentation or the support of one senior command officer to justify such removal. All of this was required to be noted in the medical log. (TOS: "The Doomsday Machine", "Obsession"; TNG: "Lonely Among Us"; VOY: "Year of Hell, Part II")
- See also: Starfleet General Orders and Regulations
After transforming Quark into Lumba in 2374, Julian Bashir told Rom, Grand Nagus Zek, and Maihar'du that he now had to find a way to enter it into his medical log. (DS9: "Profit and Lace")
Types of medical logs
- Chief medical officer's log
- Medical officer's log
Specific logs
- Medical log, Deep Space 9
- Medical log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
- Medical log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
- Medical log, USS Voyager