Oscar De La Huerte answered
The person who is responsible for certifying a death will vary from country to country.
In most cases, there are two steps to registering a death:
In the UK, a doctor would need to register the death of a patient (whether in a hospital or elsewhere) as a Medical Certificate of Death.
Because of the Harold Shipman case (where a doctor was caught falsifying death records), the medical professional who signs off someone's death needs to be independent from the deceased (i.e. Not their doctor or familiar).
Who is responsible for registering a death?
A GP (General Practitioner) will then make a more formal registry of death at a later date (possibly at the funeral home caring for the deceased).
If the GP has any questions or uncertainties, he may want to escalate the matter to a coroner.
In the US, a death certificate is held in the public domain - meaning that anyone can access information about someone who has died.
This is not the case in all countries.
If you're interested in finding out more about certifying a death, I would recommend speaking to a healthcare professional in your local area.
In most cases, there are two steps to registering a death:
- There will be an initial medical document detailing a persons death. This needs to be signed by a medical professional .
- Then the death can be entered into a death register by a registrar.
In the UK, a doctor would need to register the death of a patient (whether in a hospital or elsewhere) as a Medical Certificate of Death.
Because of the Harold Shipman case (where a doctor was caught falsifying death records), the medical professional who signs off someone's death needs to be independent from the deceased (i.e. Not their doctor or familiar).
Who is responsible for registering a death?
A GP (General Practitioner) will then make a more formal registry of death at a later date (possibly at the funeral home caring for the deceased).
If the GP has any questions or uncertainties, he may want to escalate the matter to a coroner.
In the US, a death certificate is held in the public domain - meaning that anyone can access information about someone who has died.
This is not the case in all countries.
If you're interested in finding out more about certifying a death, I would recommend speaking to a healthcare professional in your local area.
