Some doctors slow to sign up for electronic death certificate filing

Some grieving families across the state who've lost a loved one have faced an added burden as the delayed signing of electronic death certificates causes services to be postponed.

Nevada's Office of Vital Statistics issued a call this month for relevant physicians to sign up as quickly as possible for a system that allows doctors to fill in required information for death certificates electronically. That system became mandatory statewide Jan. 1.

Some doctors did not sign up after the state began notifying them of the change in fall because they have had issues registering or have outright refused to participate, vital records program officer Jason Lewis said.

Information and a signature from the physician on the death certificate are required for a burial permit to be issued and for cremations to occur.

It's uncommon that funerals are postponed because the certificate hasn't been signed, but it has occurred, Lewis said.

"There's been several times when it's come down to the wire," he said. Doctors who haven't registered typically have another user submit the form.

In 2013, the state administrative code changed to require all signatures and causes of death on the certificates to be submitted electronically rather than by paper, but the rule change didn't include a deadline for the transition, Lewis said. The state set the deadline and then began sending notices to hospitals, funeral homes and other institutions in August.

Previously, funeral homes were required to gather personal information, enter it into an electronic death registry, have the decedent's family confirm it and take the printed forms to a doctor, who might have been on vacation or unavailable for hours, said Laura Sussman, president of Kraft-Sussman Funeral Services.

The doctor would add an explanation of the cause of death and sign the form, which the funeral home would direct to the appropriate agency, she said. In the new system, the doctor gets an email notification when the form is ready and can send it directly to the approving agency.

"The fact that we can put something online and have the doctor sign it almost instantly, it's of great benefit for the families," Sussman said.

Most doctors' problems with the system stem from unfamiliarity with it, Lewis said. No technical issues have been discovered within the system, which has been available for voluntary use in Nevada since the mid- to late-2000s, he added.

Karen Massey, chief administrative officer at Northern Nevada Emergency Physicians, said physicians have struggled with some requirements of the system, including its incompatibility with Windows 10 and Apple computers. The changeover has been time-consuming, she said.

"I'm dismayed when it sounds like physicians haven't been responsive about it," Massey said.

Physicians have raised several concerns and have been working with the state to get them resolved, she said. Among those concerns was a lack of help desk staffing on weekends, which has been remedied.

Massey added that the system doesn't send a notification right away if all necessary fields haven't been completed, with doctors sometimes notified a day later when they may be out of the office or tending to patients.

Nevada State Medical Association Executive Director Catherine O' Mara said the association is working with the state to resolve the issues.

"The physician community is certainly wanting to get these certificates signed as soon as possible," she said.

— Contact Pashtana Usufzy at pusufzy@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4563. Find her on Twitter: @pashtana_u