death certificate

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death cer·ti·fi·cate

official, legal document and vital record, signed by a licensed physician or other designated authority, that includes cause of death, decedent's name, gender, place of residence, date of death; other information , for example, birth date, birth place, occupation may be included; the immediate cause of death is recorded on the first line of the certificate, followed by the condition(s) giving rise to this, with the underlying cause on the last line; the underlying cause is coded and tabulated in official publications of mortality.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

death certificate

Medspeak-UK

A document in which the treating doctor certifies the cause of death and
(1) (pre-Shipman Inquiry) informed the registrar of births, marriages and deaths, or reported the case to the Coroner if the death was sudden or unnatural, or for any other reason the cause of death could not be certified;

(2) (post-Shipman Inquiry) informs the medical examiner, or reports the case to the Coroner if the death is sudden or unnatural, or for any other reason the cause of death cannot be certified.

The Harold Shipman case introduced independent medical scrutiny (medical examiner) into death certification in the UK.

Medspeak-US
A document in which a certifying physician formally states, to the best of his/her knowledge, the immediate, intermediate, and underlying cause(s) of death.

Death certificate
(1a) Direct or immediate cause of death (based on the balance of probability).
(1b) Predisposing factor that led to 1a (optional, but commonly put on the death certificate).
(1c) Predisposing factor that led to 1b (in practice, rarely put on the death certificate).
(2) Any other factor that indirectly contributed to death.

death certificate

Health statistics A document in which a certifying physician formally states, to the best of his/her knowledge, the immediate, intermediate, and underlying cause(s) of death. Cf Unnatural death.

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References in periodicals archive ?

She said: "The Ministry of Justice will request to close the document -- this means that the translated death certificate, along with a copy of the original, will be attached together and the papers will be folded from the top left and stapled.

Death of an expat: Procedures to follow in UAE

As a result, many death certificates received by the Interior Ministry, have never reached the Public Health Ministry.

Election time: When the dead walk again

A new web-based training module for death certificate completion was initiated in the state for all personnel involved in death records data entry.

Using national inpatient death rates as a benchmark to identify hospitals with inaccurate cause of death reporting--Missouri, 2009-2012

Cause of Death and the Death Certificate, Hanzlick, 2006

Death certificates: Cardiac arrest is not a cause of death

She added: "When I got the death certificate, I looked at Andrew's photograph and I said 'Andrew, we've done it, we've actually done it'."

'I wanted the world to see it in black and white'

Texas on Wednesday began issuing death certificates that recognize same-sex marriages, state officials said.

Judge Gives Texas Deadline on Same-Sex Marriage Policies

The death certificate form used in Iran (created by the Forensic Medicine Organization (FMO) and which all centres dealing with death must use) has not been designed according to the standard WHO death certificate.

Impact of documentation errors on accuracy of cause of death coding in an educational hospital in Southern Iran

Since October 2007, all deaths that occur in Los Angeles County (except those that occur in Long Beach and Pasadena) are recorded by the electronic filing of death certificates into the EDRS at Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Use of electronic death certificates for influenza death surveillance

South Africa is the only country in the world to routinely record the detail on all death certificates. It takes the form of a simple yes/no box asking if the deceased smoked in the last five years.

Smoker Label Plea for Death Certificates

"If a death certificate has been issued, it means all investigations are over," the official said.

Body to be repatriated

Islwyn MP Chris Evans said legislation is a step closer to help spare relatives bureaucratic problems resolving the affairs of missing loved ones in the absence of a death certificate.

MP supports 'death' Bill

The Ministry of Justice has announced the introduction of a certificate of presumed death - the equivalent to a death certificate in its legal power and will go a long way in simplifying the processes and problems faced by those left Currently, families need death certificates in order to resolve issues with banks and bills.