This section of our newsletter is where we take time to respond to your inquiries. If you have an inquiry you’d like to submit for inclusion in an upcoming issue, simply let us know.
Q1:
As a local county registrar, how will I know that the requester of a disposition permit has confirmed that a doctor or medical examiner will sign the death certificate?
A1:
You will need to ask questions to satisfy yourself that you have enough information. As a local county registrar, or as a deputy registrar for disposition permits, before you issue a disposition permit, you need to confirm that the death was from natural causes or that the case was referred to the coroner. The reason the disposition permit exists in the first place is to ensure that a decedent is not cremated, donated, or transported across state lines without proper diligence.
Q2:
Is the pronouncement form completed by the hospital or hospice facility acceptable as a form of proof of a natural causes death?
A2:
Most often, the answer is yes. However, as the issuer of the disposition permit, you have to discern for yourself if the information presented is sufficient or if you need to probe further. For example, if Mr. Smith dies in a hospice facility form lung cancer and the pronouncement sheet says “natural causes” or “lung cancer” then you most likely have enough information. However, if the funeral home picks up Mr. Smith and notices that he has a broken leg and a deep gash on his forehead as if he suffered a fall, then the funeral home is obligated to notify the coroner or medical examiner and tell you that they have made that call. As a matter of practice, I would ask the funeral home if there were any indications of a suspicious death and if any follow-up is necessary. Remember that these funeral homes view the decedent and the decedent’s family as their customer just as you do.
Q3:
When a disposition permit is issued on a fetal death at the hospital and the body is leaving the state or being cremated, does a copy of this form need to be forwarded to the local Vital Records office or can the birth clerk at the hospital who is a deputy registrar keep copies of these disposition permits at their facility?
A3:
As the local county registrar, you are responsible for keeping copies of all disposition permits at your county office. This includes disposition permits that your “deputies” do for you. Make sure that you get copies from them for your own files.
Q4:
A Florida/Alabama/South Carolina/Tennessee funeral director has contacted me about becoming a deputy registrars for the sole purpose of signing disposition permits. Is it permissible for me to appoint them for this purpose since they are not a Georgia-based funeral home but is using the GAVERS system to register deaths?
A4:
Yes, you can appoint them. There is no requirement that your deputy registrars have to be Georgia-based….and especially for border counties, this makes sense.
