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February 2021
Audience:
**Attention All Health Care Providers**
Important Facts:
A.R.S. 36-325 (G) If a person under the current care of a health care provider for an acute or chronic medical condition dies of that condition, or complications associated with that condition, the health care provider or a health care provider designated by that provider shall complete and sign the medical certificate of death on a death certificate within seventy-two hours...
A.R.S. 36-325 (N) A health care provider who completes and signs a medical certification of death in good faith pursuant to this section is not subject to civil liability or professional disciplinary action.
A.R.S. 36-301 (8) Current care means that a health care provider has examined, treated or provided care for a person for a chronic or acute condition within eighteen months preceding that person's death. Current care does not include services provided in connection with a single event of emergency or urgent care. For the purposes of this paragraph, "treated" includes prescribing medication.
A.R.S. 36-301 (23) Medical certification of death means the opinion of the health care provider who signs the certificate of probable or presumed cause of death that complies with the rules adopted by the state registrar of vital records and that is based on any of the following that are reasonably available:
(a) Personal examination.
(b) Medical history.
(c) Medical records.
(d) Other reasonable forms of evidence.
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Reporting and Coding Deaths Due to COVID-19
- Guidance for Certifying Deaths Due to COVID-19
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvss/vsrg/vsrg03-508.pdf
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/coding-and-reporting.htm
This link provides guidance and resources for reporting deaths due to COVID-19 on death certificates. When COVID-19 is determined to be a cause of death, it is important that it be reported on the death certificate to accurately assess the effects of this pandemic and appropriately direct public health response.
This link also provides basic information on the new International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD–10) code for COVID-19.
When listing causes of death due to COVID-19 please do NOT use the term "coronavirus" alone. You MUST provide the specific strain of coronavirus, eg, COVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2, or Coronavirus 2019.
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The Arizona Department of Health Services, Bureau of Vital Records (Department) implemented the state's new electronic death registration system called the Database Application for Vital Events (DAVE) in October 2017. All Arizona funeral homes use the DAVE system to create death certificates. The Department requires physicians (health care providers) to use the DAVE system to certify the cause of death on death certificates.
For more information about DAVE, visit us at https://azdhs.gov/licensing/vital-records/index.php#dave-medical
Thank you
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