Harbor:Deceased patients: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Family Viewing of Deceased Patients}} | {{Family Viewing of Deceased Patients}} | ||
==[[Coroners' case]]== | ==[[Coroners' case]]== | ||
*[https://www.wikem.org/w/images/Death_Packet_Checklist.pdf| | *[[https://www.wikem.org/w/images/Death_Packet_Checklist.pdf|Death_Packet_Checklist.pdf]] | ||
*If you believe the cause of death to be natural (''not'' as the result of an accident, injury, suicide, homicide, etc.) and the case does not meet the criteria for coroner's cases listed in the death packet yellow form, please complete the death certificate using your clinical understanding of the reasons for death. | *If you believe the cause of death to be natural (''not'' as the result of an accident, injury, suicide, homicide, etc.) and the case does not meet the criteria for coroner's cases listed in the death packet yellow form, please complete the death certificate using your clinical understanding of the reasons for death. | ||
*If law enforcement is already involved with case and it is believed to potentially be the result of a crime, you do not need to separately notify the coroner. Simply check off "yes to coroner's case" on the death packet and do not complete the death certificate. | *If law enforcement is already involved with case and it is believed to potentially be the result of a crime, you do not need to separately notify the coroner. Simply check off "yes to coroner's case" on the death packet and do not complete the death certificate. | ||
Revision as of 18:15, 7 December 2021
Family Viewing of Deceased Patients
If you have a death in the ED, please don't direct family to the morgue and don't promise body viewing. If the death is potentially a coroner's case, with an unclear cause of death or concerns for possible criminal activity (violence, hit and run, etc.), the family may not be allowed near the body for concerns of evidentiary integrity. For any death that we will be disclosing to the family, the ED social worker should be present to handle the details of discussing body and funeral preparations with the family.
Family Bereavement Resources
How to access the bereavement packet if needed.
- Go to home page for Harbor/UCLA and click on Departments/Site pages
- Once the page comes up, look in the second column for Patient Education
- Click on Patient Education
- Once the page comes up, look for Patient Handouts
- Click on Patient Handouts
- Once page comes up, scroll down to Bereavement packet; it is available in English, Spanish, and Korean.
Coroners' case
- [[1]]
- If you believe the cause of death to be natural (not as the result of an accident, injury, suicide, homicide, etc.) and the case does not meet the criteria for coroner's cases listed in the death packet yellow form, please complete the death certificate using your clinical understanding of the reasons for death.
- If law enforcement is already involved with case and it is believed to potentially be the result of a crime, you do not need to separately notify the coroner. Simply check off "yes to coroner's case" on the death packet and do not complete the death certificate.
- If law enforcement is not involved and you are not sure if it is a coroner's case (e.g. might meet one of the criteria listed on the packet, maybe was as a result of an accident) or are just not comfortable completing the “Information for Death Certificate” form, then please either contact the coroner on shift (note: the wait time is usually 1-2 hours) or check of "coroner's case" on the death packet and Decedent Affairs staff will contact the coroner.
- Primary care providers or the Coroner complete the death certificate, NOT ED providers. We only complete the form “Information for the Death Certificate.”
- Attendings are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the case is reported to the coroner.