What are the criteria for death for a doctor to sign a death certificate?

Question

No guesses, please.

Answer 1

The criteria in general is absence of heart beat, and respiration's, but may also include the onset of levidity and rigor. Verification can be made by a doctor or nurse but depending on the state a physician may actually have to sign the certificate.

Now the criteria for determining Brain death which is not dead per-say ie not enough to issue a death certificate because the body is still functioning but on automatic without brain function (when this occurs you typically see medical staff looking at organ donation because the body may have viable organs that are time sensitive with regards to transplantation.

Now in some circumstances you aren't dead unless you are cold and dead, unless you are a drowning victim then you aren't dead unless you are warm and dead.

Answer 2

The doctor has to have cared for the patient and be convinced of a specific cause of death before they can sign a death certificate. Those are the only criteria I'm aware of.

If you mean to VERIFY death, then my standard annotation in patient notes goes as follows:

- Pupils fixed and unresponsive to light
- No response to sternal rub
- No pulse felt at carotid artery over 1 minute
- No heart sounds heard over 1 minute
- No effort at breathing over 1 minute.

Death confirmed at (time) on (date) by (my name and position)

Answer 3

Google search: death certificate criteria signs

http://www.co.rock.wi.us/Dept/Coroner/Documents/Criteria%20for%20Reportable%20Cases.pdf

This website lists the criteria for which cases must be reported to the coroner's office of Rock County, State of Wisconsin.

In biology class (high school) we learned criteria for determining whether things are living:

They are born (have an origin, hatch from eggs, etc.);

They move;

They breathe;

They take in nutrition;

They give off waste;

They die (stop doing all the above activities).

The website should give you specific criteria for Wisconsin. If you're not in Wisconsin, repeat the search as "death certificate criteria signs (your state name goes here)." It should be pretty much the same list of criteria, though.

Answer 4

For someone to actually be dead! Sorry. That's not a guess. No pulse, no respiration, no heartbeat are all good indicators. Also, all attempts at resuscitation have been futile.

Answer 5

Each state may have its own guidlines, lack of breathing and heartbeat is what they used in MO when my father passed.

They came in, checked to see if he had any breathing, listened for a heart beat and covered him up.

Answer 6

WELL, I'M PRETTY SURE YOU HAVE TO BE DEAD.