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Friday, January 21, 2011
Ind. Gov't. - Even more on: Changes to death certificate system in Indiana
Updating a number of recent ILB entries, Virginia Ransbottom has a story today in the South Bend Tribune. Some quotes:
A new online system for recording death certificates caused some unnecessary grief for the family of Irene Wozniak, who died Jan. 14.Wozniak's brother, George Moffett, of Lakeville, said glitches in the system delayed the paperwork necessary to provide closure for the family of his sister.
As of Jan. 1, the Indiana Death Registry System required all death records be filed using a Web-based registry.
The system requires doctors and funeral homes to sign up for a four-digit code to enter a record and is designed to speed the process of getting death certificates and reduce the risks of identity theft.
However, according to Moffett, Wozniak's doctor had not signed on with the registry, causing delays in Wozniak's cremation and taking care of her estate.
On Thursday, Moffett said that, because the doctor issuing his sister's death certificate wasn't in the system, his sister's remains were being held in cold storage at the funeral home, which could cost $125 a day.
Before a funeral home can cremate remains, it must have a death certificate from the attending physician. Burials do not need a death certificate up front.
Welsheimer Family Funeral Home, of South Bend, verified it was having trouble getting the doctor to sign on with the registry to acquire the death certificate. However, it said it would not charge $125 a day for holding Wozniak for the past week.
The doctor's office manager would not give a reason for the hold-up, but said it was a struggle getting into the system, which they did yesterday.
"They (Welsheimers) are being decent about it," said Moffett, who was trying to help his nephew, Jason Wozniak, through the death of his mother. "But this is causing a whole lot of stress and strain to families during one of the worst times in their lives."
Welsheimer's receptionist said four of the 12 deaths at the funeral home this year had delays because doctors had not signed into the state database although they had a year to do so.
For the Wozniak family, the glitch was finally taken care of Thursday, but according to The Associated Press, families across the state are also hitting roadblocks, not only because doctors had not signed up, but because some doctors object to a provision that calls for criminal charges and a $1,000 fine for failing to complete information in the system in a timely manner.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 21, 2011 09:16 AM
Posted to Indiana Government