What does a Death Certificate Include?
There are 3 Distinct Sections of a Pennsylvania Death Certificate:
Vital Statistics Information
The funeral home completes this section of the death certificate. It includes information such as the name of the deceased, marital status, race, education,
employment , parents’ names and next of kin, where death occurred, method of disposition and ethnic background information.
Pronouncing & Certifying Death
The person that was physically present and pronounced that the death occurred then completes their area of the death certificate. This includes their name, time and date that the death occurred.
The only persons that are permitted to pronounce death are Registered Nurses (RN), Certified Nurse Practitioners (CRNP), Physicians and Coroners.
The physician or coroner then completes his/her section which can include up to 4 causes of death and interval of death. There are certain guidelines which physicians must follow to properly identify the cause of death. There are also questions about pregnancy, smoking and if an autopsy was performed. Finally, it asks if an injury occurred and requires all available information about the injury, where applicable.