Q1: Based on the Open Records Act, are there certain stipulations as to who can receive a death certificate with cause of death? There is confusion over when to issue a death certificate with cause of death vs. no cause of death.
A1:
An Attorney General opinion from 2007 says cause of death is public information, so cause of death should
never
be redacted from any death certificate, official or white copies. When required, the only information that should be redacted from a death certificate is the decedent's social security number (SSN). Remember, SSNs should be redacted on death certificates that are requested for genealogy purposes or by law enforcement.
Q2: How do you utilize the new GAVERS fields when tracking a drug overdose?
A2:
In GAVERS, drug overdose reporting depends on the manner of death. For instance, if the decedent died of natural causes, the drug overdose question will not appear in GAVERS. On the contrary, if the decedent died of unknown causes, the drug overdose question will appear. Please keep in mind that when this question appears in GAVERS, it is mandatory to answer. If there is a suspicion that the death may have been caused by an overdose, users should select “yes” to the overdose question. Users should select ‘no’ if they do not suspect that the cause of death is related to a drug overdose. Lastly, if there is not enough information to determine if the death may have been OD related, users should select unknown.
