Effective January 16, 2012 NPs in New York State are authorized to sign and certify to the facts of death and provide the medical information required by the Certificate of Death. The documents included in this package are instructional and provide the NP with the information necessary to properly complete a Certificate of Death. They are:

• "Instructions for Nurse Practitioners to Complete the New York State Certificate of Death."

• "CDC Physician Instructions for Completing Cause of Death".

• "CDC Possible Solutions for Common Death Certification Problems".

• "CDC Physician handbook on Medical Certification of Death".

• Link to Centers for Disease Control web page "Writing Cause of Death Statements".

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/writing_cod_statements.htm

It is strongly recommended that NPs read every publication listed above and consult as necessary with the resources available on the linked CDC web page. This will help avoid errors in completion of the Certificate of Death and make things work smoothly for the families of your patients.