Death Documents project

High uptake of the Death Documents online service is important to enable its full benefits to be realised.

We want you to share the benefits of using Death Documents with health practitioners who regularly complete these forms.

Some resources have been specifically developed to enable you to engage your teams in the use of the Death Documents website. You can:

• keep up to date by visiting our Death Documents project page for project implementation information
• share the podcast interview of a medical referee discussing the accurate information needed when certifying cause of death
• share the Death Documents - Getting started handout with doctors, nurse practitioners and midwives. It explains how to get started in Death Documents.
  Death Documents - Getting started handout (PDF 268KB)

Role of a champion

The Death Documents champion role is that of liaison with the Health NZ project team, including assisting them to troubleshoot any issues that arise, and supporting colleagues on an ongoing basis.

Interested in becoming a champion?

If you're interested in becoming a champion, contact a Death Documents project team member.
Project contacts

To find out more about how others have championed the uptake of Death Documents in their organisation, contact one of our champions in the list of contacts.

Contact details

christine.fowler@tewhatuora.govt.nz 

mortality_administration@tewhatuora.govt.nz

anne.goodwin@tewhatuora.govt.nz

LifeEventServicesTeam@dia.govt.nz 

LifeEventServicesTeam@dia.govt.nz

Medical Certificate of Causes of Fetal and Neonatal Death

An online form (HP4721) for certifying neonatal deaths and stillbirths is available in Death Documents from 21/8/2024.

Medical practitioners and nurse practitioners can now certify deaths online for babies under 28 days of age who have died. Medical practitioners can also complete certificates for stillborn babies online.

Midwives can register as users of Death Documents. A midwife can complete a certificate for a stillborn baby when no medical practitioner was present at the birth.

Just like the HP4720, HP4721 certificates can be amended online and are available to the funeral director and other Death Documents users as soon as the document is submitted.

Neonatal deaths cannot yet be reported to the coroner using Death Documents. Use your existing process for reporting neonatal deaths to the coroner.

• Coroner Report
  Medical practitioners and nurse practitioners can now use Death Documents to report deaths to the coroner. This new function asks a series of screening questions to guide the practitioner through the reporting requirements then provides a firm recommendation to either complete and submit a Coroner Report or complete a medical certificate of cause of death (because the death does not need to be reported to the coroner). This new method of reporting deaths to the coroner should be used by practitioners in both hospitals and general practice. Coroners are keen for all referrals to be made using Death Documents as soon as possible. It will replace the Hospital Record of Death (HROD) form that is currently used in hospitals to report a death to the coroner.
  
  In some hospitals an HROD is completed for every death (not just those reported to the coroner). This is not a coronial requirement. Hospitals are encouraged to review their processes and guidance for certifying practitioners, and to transition to using Death Documents for all cause of death certification and reporting of deaths to the coroner.
  
  GPs have previously phoned the coroner to report a death. They are now encouraged to report the death using Death Documents.
  
  The practitioner creates a document following a similar process as for a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD). They complete information about the deceased’s identity, and then answer questions that guide them to make the correct decision to report the death to the coroner or complete an MCCD. The practitioner has an opportunity to review all the details they have entered before submitting the report, The coroner’s office (NIIO) is notified immediately, and the death is reported to Te Whatu Ora so that the NHI record can be updated with the date of death.  NIIO will register the report and contact the practitioner by phone within 2 hours to confirm whether they have taken the case.
  
  If you need help getting started on Death Documents see the roll-out resources page or contact one of the team.

• Other Information
  A new free text field where a certifier can enter important information they think needs to be shared with the funeral director or other users of the document.

• Searching for documents
  The search criteria is relaxed so that results will include deaths from a day on either side of the entered search date.
   
• Other roles can get access
  Hospital staff in other roles e.g., clinical managers and clinical coders, are able to access Death Documents to view documents. This will reduce the need to print documents or make PDF copies.  Other users will also be able to get access.  These include those managing body bequests, city council cemetery staff helping families with arranging funerals without a funeral director, and administration staff from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and Health New Zealand (HNZ).  These users play a key role in ensuring complete and accurate information is recorded on death registrations and in health records.  To request access for your organisation email mortality_administration@health.govt.nz and an organisation agreement will be sent out to be completed.

• Duplicate Certificates
  An alert message will be received by a practitioner who starts to create a certificate for an NHI number that matches the NHI on an already submitted certificate, or the NHI on a draft certificate being created by another practitioner. The certifier can view the document that has already been created and/or continue to create a new certificate for that deceased person and provide a reason why a replacement certificate is required.  

• Amending old certificates
  There are no longer any date restrictions for practitioners to amend already submitted certificates, or to create new certificates in Death Documents. However, a warning is returned if the date of death is more than one week prior to the current date. The certifier can proceed to complete the amendment or new certificate after checking that the date of death is correct.
  Note: An ‘Additional information’ free text field will be added in the next release to allow the certifying practitioner to add relevant notes about the certificate, e.g. why an amendment or a new certificate was required.

• Date Last Seen alive
  The Date Last Seen Alive must be entered if you were the practitioner who attended the deceased during their last illness. A certifier who was not the attending practitioner can now also enter a Date Last Seen Alive, but it is optional. The entry ‘N/A’ will no longer be printed on the form. That field will be left blank if a date is not supplied.

• Default settings for question related to pregnancy
  The question ‘Was the deceased pregnant at the time of death?” will be defaulted to ‘No’ if the deceased is outside the usual age range for pregnancy (i.e. younger or older). The certifier can override the default setting if required.

• Assisted Dying
  With the introduction of the End of Life Choice Act 2019 Death Documents will allow practitioners to complete the Assisted Dying Death Report. Implementation of the Act has also brought changes to the wording of some questions on the cremation form.
• Notifications when a document is updated
  If a practitioner, mortuary technician or funeral director views a document and the document appears in their “Viewed Documents” list they will be notified whenever a change is made to the document.  They will receive an email telling them the document has changed, including a link to the document.
• Revoke a document
  Sometimes a practitioner may complete a document and subsequently the death is referred to the coroner.  When this happens, you can now Revoke the document in Death Documents instead of ringing the Ministry of Health Contact Centre. To revoke a document click the VIEW/PRINT button then select the REVOKE THIS DOCUMENT button. It’s red and on the right hand side of the page above the Document number. You will be asked to enter a reason and then confirm you want the document revoked. Once revoked you will not be able to reinstate the document.

• Mortuary technicians registered with the Medical Sciences Council, who hold the appropriate mortuary qualifications and a current practicing certificate are now able to log in to Death Documents with RealMe and view the documentation for the deceased persons brought into their hospital’s mortuary.

• COVID-19 pandemic
  During the current COVID-19 pandemic it is really important for all medical and nurse practitioners to certify deaths online using Death Documents.

• Searching for Death Documents completed by others 　
  When required you can now search for documents completed by another practitioner online. If you are a medical referee you can search for and view online documents you are required to referee.
  Note: At this stage the Permission to cremate (Form F) must still be completed on paper. Continue your usual process for this. 　

• Death Documents marketing
  We have started a Death Documents marketing campaign to encourage more practitioners to start using Death Documents. The campaign uses both physical and digital channels.
• More Death Documents champions wanted
  The Ministry is still seeking champions of the Death Documents online service to represent each district health board, especially to help spread the word alongside our marketing campaign. 

• More Death Documents online
  We now have over 10,000 certificates completed online and over 1,800 health practitioners around the country registered to use Death Documents.
• New look website
  The Death Documents website has been updated to make more visually appealing, as well as being easier to use with bigger buttons and a clearer layout.
• Updated certificates
  Certificates completed online have also been updated with a clearer layout and bolder answers to make them more scannable.
• Improved PDF
  Improvements to the PDF allow funeral directors to copy and paste information directly from the downloaded certificates, rather than transcribing by eye. It’s now quicker, easier and more accurate to copy information onto death registrations.
• Out in the sector
  The Death Documents stands at the 2019 GP Conferences and Medical Exhibitions in Rotorua and Christchurch were busy again with strong interest in using the online system over paper. Over 60 GPs and nurse practitioners that visited our stand created a Death Documents account on the spot and many more GPs and nurses saw a live demonstration and took away flyers and cards to share with their practice. Following each GP conference, we have seen a significant increase in the number of certificates completed online.

• Notifications feature
  This feature allows funeral directors to save a search for a deceased person’s documents to get an email notification when a document that matches that search is completed online by a practitioner. Funeral directors will no longer have to log in to Death Documents multiple times a day to check if the documents have been completed.

• NHI Look-ups
  Medical practitioners and nurse practitioners can now populate a deceased person's name and address details through a look-up of the National Health Index (NHI).
• Additional security measures
  • The first time a practitioner logs on after the upgrade their details will be checked against the Health Provider Index (HPI). Their details must match those on their practising certificate.
  • Each time a practitioner (or other user) logs on to Death Documents they will need to enter a code that will be sent to their mobile phone number provided to RealMe, or if used, Google Authenticator
  • Only practitioners with a RealMe verified account will be able to look up the NHI.
  • Becoming RealMe verified is now much easier for NZ passport holders. For information on how to become RealMe verified go to the RealMe website.
• More Death Documents online
  We now have over 3000 certificates completed online and up to 1000 health practitioners around the country registered.
• Faster update of date of death
  We now have dates of death being updated earlier on the NHI, particularly for those practitioners with a RealMe verified account.

Introducing Death Documents - YouTube:  Death Documents Overview (4 mins, 30 secs) 

A Death Documents video describing the digital initiative that brought death documentation online. 

• System help for practitioners – Death Documents website
• System help for Mortuary Technicians –  Death Document website
• System help for funeral directors –  Death Document website
• System help for other roles – Death Document website

• Death Documents – Getting started (PDF 268KB)
• Death Documents – Getting started (DOCX 92KB)
• Creating and using your RealMe login (PDF 193KB)
• How to become RealMe verified (PDF 1.2MB)

NZ Legislation website:

• Burial and Cremation Act 1964
• Cremation Regulations 1973
• Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 2021
• Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationship Registration (Prescribed Information) Regulations 1995