The information will be used to study stroke risk factors. Doctors also need accurate data to determine whether experimental medical treatments are working. The federal government uses the numbers to decide which prevention issues to emphasize and where to spend millions in research dollars. It's like the census. The state's vital records office occasionally publishes reminders about the importance of filling out death certificates properly, but the state offers little physician training.
Doctors say the requirements passed down from state and federal officials change frequently.
And many patients now switch doctors more frequently, limiting a new physician's ability to report an accurate cause of death. The elderly often have multiple health problems, and pinpointing an exact cause of death can be difficult. You try to be accurate, but you really can't know. Medical researchers say doctor training is crucial, and so is more support for the state's vital records office, which is supposed to send vague death certificates back to doctors. But many are not sent back with more specific information, and the state center doesn't have the staff to follow up on them.