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Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Ind. Gov't. - Yet more on: Changes to death certificate system in Indiana
Updating a number of recent ILB entries from around the state, Virginia Ransbottom has a second story today in the South Bend Tribune. Some quotes:
After reading stories about loved one's cremations being delayed and hearing from frustrated doctors wrestling with Indiana's new system for recording death certificates online, the Indiana State Medical Association cited several problems that needed to be ironed out.However, the Indiana State Department of Health says it's pleased at how well the system is working. * * *
While the turnaround time to obtain a personal identification number for access to the system was supposed to take one to two days, ISMA physicians advised [ISMA managing editor Kathleen Hopper] the process took two weeks to a month before receiving their PINs.
Dr. David Welsh, an ISMA past president, said not only did it take him a month to receive his PIN, he asked a question using the help line but no one got back him with an answer.
The state's health department says those must have been isolated incidents that could have included incorrectly submitted or identified e-mail addresses.
"We've had no systemwide problems," said Jennifer Dunlap, the state health department's director of public affairs. "We've been tracking turnaround time and they're turned within two to three business days."
Dunlap said the registry has seen no drop in death records being processed and as far as delays in receiving death certificates, that's why the new system was developed, she said.
"It's not uncommon for a death certificate to take weeks or months to be processed," said Dunlap, mentioning there were previously no time guidelines. "The new system takes three days to a week in turnaround time."
Other frustrations reported by ISMA physicians were that one-time e-mail notifications by the registry may get overlooked in a busy office and that the provision calling for criminal charges and a $1,000 fine for failing to have the death certificates processed within five days is too harsh.
Dunlap said doctor and coroner offices can have up to three back-up e-mail addresses for notification when a certificate needs to be processed and suggested office personnel take the online training tutorials offered at https://myweb.in.gov/ISDH/IDRSThin.
A House bill is already in the works to change the mandated criminal penalty to a professional licensing issue, Dunlap said.
Dunlap also suggested not waiting until a death occurs before registering in the system.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 25, 2011 11:14 AM
Posted to Indiana Government