Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/11054/201
Title: Death certification by doctors in non-metropolitan Victoria.
Authors: Peach, Hedley G.
Brumley, David
Issue Date: 1998
Publisher: Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Place of publication: Melbourne
Publication Title: Australian Family Physician
Volume: 27
Issue: 3
Start Page: 178
End Page: 182
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the completeness and accuracy of death certification by general practitioners, specialists and resident medical officers (RMOs) in non-metropolitan Victoria. DESIGN: An examination of the death certificates written by a representative sample of community and hospital doctors and comparison with the clinical history. SETTING: The Ballarat statistical district. RESULTS: Eighteen percent of the death certificates at initial assessment, were unsatisfactory (the percentage for those written by RMOs were significantly higher). After review of the clinical record, 27% of certificates were found to inaccurately represent the cause of death, (again the percentage for RMOs was higher) Eighteen percent of certificates required a change of code. CONCLUSION: Monitoring the health of the public relies in part on information gained from death certificates. It is thus of concern that such a high percentage of death certificates are inaccurate to the extent that they are incorrectly coded. Consideration should be given to new educational initiatives and to the promotion of the existing toll free telephone advice service to doctors.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11054/201
ISSN: 0300-8495
Internal ID Number: 00184
Health Subject: DEATH CERTIFICATION
REGIONAL
GENERAL PRACTIONER
SPECIALISTS
RESIDENT MEDICAL OFFICERS
Type: Journal Article
Article
Appears in Collections:Research Output

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