Physicians must register for EDRS
Any physician who is required to initiate, complete, respond to or file a Colorado death certificate must use the electronic death registration system used by the CDPHE and the state registrar. The physician must be registered by Friday, March 1.
Physicians responsible for completing the medical certification for a death certificate must do so within 72 hours after receipt of an EDRS request unless current law requires additional inquiry into the cause and manner of death. If a death is or might be due to unnatural causes, the physician required to complete a medical certification for a death certificate must notify the coroner or the medical examiner when current law requires an inquiry or an autopsy to be performed.
Generally, the medical certification will be done by the primary care physician. This is the case if:
The death appears to be due to natural causes.
The decedent received medical care from the primary care physician within a year of death.
The death occurred when the decedent was not under the direct care of another physician charged with the patient’s care during the illness or condition that resulted in death.
The medical certification may be done by another physician if, within a year of death, the decedent had been treated by that physician for a chronic condition or terminal illness related to the decedent’s death.
Penalty
The act requires the state registrar to provide a monthly report to the Department of Regulatory Agencies that identifies any death certificates for which a medical certification was not completed in a timely manner, and DORA is required to promptly provide the report to the Colorado Medical Board. DORA is also required to report annually to its legislative oversight committees regarding the number of complaints that DORA received and the number of disciplinary actions taken against a licensee. On and after March 1, repeated or willful failure without reasonable cause to comply with the requirements of completing a medical certification for a death certificate in accordance with any applicable deadline will be defined as “unprofessional conduct” for the purposes of the Colorado Medical Practices Act.