ELDERLY

It is often difficult to determine which of multiple conditions caused an elderly patient’s death. The important thing to keep in mind is that the cause of death is the certifiers OPINION about which of the elderly person’s conditions most likely caused or contributed to death. You do not have to be positive of the cause of death, and you may use qualifying terms such as “probable” to indicate a degree of uncertainty. You may report the most likely sequence of events leading to death, including which of the deceased’s conditions was the most likely underlying cause of death.

The most common error in reporting causes of death for the elderly in Arkansas is omitting the underlying cause of death. Many death certificates for our elderly report only an immediate cause of death, such as cardiac arrest or heart failure, or a symptom such as debility, failure to thrive, or multiple organ failure. If these conditions are reported, their cause should also be reported.

See also TERMS THAT DON’T IDENTIFY UNDERLYING CAUSE OF DEATH.

Another common error in reporting causes of death for elderly persons is reporting an injury as “natural.” Age and infirmity do not make an injury “natural”. For example, if the patient fell and broke her hip, it is still an “injury” even if the patient fell because of a disease condition that caused her to lose her balance or faint. It is an injury, even if her age or illness made it more difficult to survive a broken hip.

If an injury is reported on the death certificate, notify the coroner and complete Items 27-32 regardless of the age of the deceased or other conditions present at death. This instruction applies to all injuries, even when you have checked Item 26, Manner of Death, as “natural.”

DO NOT REPORT “old age”, “age 99”, “senile” or similar terms as causes of death. The age of the deceased is already reported in Item 5.