We need clarification of the policies & process for identifying COVID deaths in Saskatchewan. I'll explain what I know about the process & will encourage others to fill the gaps in my knowledge base 🧵 (1/7)
Following every death that occurs in or out of hospitals, a physician must very promptly complete & sign a Medical Certificate of Death. Funeral homes cannot proceed with embalming or cremation of the body before they receive this Certificate (2/7)
Death causation may be multi-factorial. For this reason the Medical Certificate of Death captures this information:
1) Immediate cause of death
2) Antecedent causes
3) Other significant conditions contributing to the death
(3/7)
1) Immediate cause of death
2) Antecedent causes
3) Other significant conditions contributing to the death
(3/7)
If the cause of death in unclear, an autopsy may be requested or the death may be referred to the Coroner for investigation. Either of these processes cause some delay in ultimate determination of the cause(s) of death (4/7)
The Medical Certificate of Death & the Funeral Home's Registration of Death are filed with @eHealthSask & this agency maintains all death records in Saskatchewan. It is unclear to me if @eHealthSask determines which deaths are caused by COVID (5/7)
It is unclear to me if the inclusion of COVID as an "antecedent cause" or "a condition contributing to the cause of death" on the Medical Certificate of Death assures that all such deaths are publicly reported as COVID deaths (6/7)
If all such deaths are not consistently reported as COVID deaths, why would they not be? Is there any agency other than @eHealthSask or any person that has authority to include or exclude deaths from the list of publicly reported COVID deaths? (7/7)
@threadreaderapp roll up please
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