Circular No. 24/2020/TT-BYT stipulates on the Death Cause Diagnosis Form, issuance of the Death Notification Certificate, and death statistics at medical examination and treatment facilities.

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON THE DEATH CERTIFICATE FORM, ISSUANCE OF DEATH NOTICES AND DEATH STATISTICS AT MEDICAL TREATMENT FACILITIES

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 75/2017/NĐ-CP dated June 20, 2017 stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

Based on Decree No. 123/2015/NĐ-CP dated November 15, 2015 of the Government detailing certain provisions and measures for the implementation of the Household Registration Law;

At the request of the Heads of: Legal Affairs Department; Planning and Finance Department;

The Minister of Health issues this Circular regulating the Death Certificate Form, issuance of death notices and death statistics at medical treatment facilities as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the method of filling out the Death Certificate Form, issuing and reissuing death notices, and reporting death statistics at medical treatment facilities.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to medical treatment facilities that have been granted operating licenses in accordance with the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment; agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the Death Certificate Form, issuance and reissuance of death notices, and death statistics at medical treatment facilities.

Article 3. Authority to sign the Death Certificate Form and issue, reissue death notices

The head or person responsible for professional technical matters at medical treatment facilities specified in Article 2 of this Circular has the authority to sign the Death Certificate Form and issue, reissue death notices. The head or person responsible for professional technical matters may delegate such authority in writing to another person to sign the Death Certificate Form and issue, reissue death notices. The delegator and the delegatee shall be jointly liable under the law for the delegation and the documents they sign.

Article 4. Provisions on the Death Certificate Form

1. The Death Certificate Form is only used by health authorities for statistical purposes, planning, policy development, research, demographic structure analysis, and evaluation of healthcare service provision.

2. When determining that a patient has died biologically, i.e., cessation of breathing and heartbeat, the medical treatment facility where the patient died shall record all contents as prescribed in the Death Certificate Form set forth in Appendix I attached hereto.

3. The Death Certificate Form at medical treatment facilities shall not be issued to relatives of the deceased but shall be kept together with the autopsy report at the medical treatment facility; it serves as the basis for reporting statistics in accordance with the law.

Article 5. Provisions on the issuance and reissuance of death notices

1. Issuance of death notice

After confirming the death of a patient, the medical treatment facility shall record all contents according to the model of the death notice as prescribed in Appendix II attached hereto. Relatives of the deceased, as stipulated in Clause 19, Article 3 of the Marriage and Family Law, shall read and verify the information before signing. The death notice shall be made in two copies of equal legal value, one copy given to the relatives of the deceased for registration of death procedures, and one copy retained at the medical treatment facility.

2. Reissuance of death notice

a) In case of errors in recording the death notice:

The relatives of the deceased shall submit a Request for Reissuance of Death Notice as prescribed in Appendix III attached hereto, along with proof of the error sent to the medical treatment facility that initially issued the death notice. Within no more than one working day from receiving valid documents, the medical treatment facility shall be responsible for recalling and destroying the erroneous death notice; the request and proof of error shall be kept together with the medical records at the medical treatment facility. The reissued death notice must clearly state the number and volume number of the original death notice and bear the stamp "Reissued." If verification is required, the verification period shall not exceed five working days.

Proof of error in the death notice: For cases of error in the surname, middle name, first name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, ID card number, citizen identification card number, individual identification number of the deceased, a photocopy of one of the following documents proving the error shall be submitted: passport, ID card, citizen identification card, or other documents containing a photograph and personal information showing the error issued by the competent authority and still valid (household registration book, temporary residence certificate, or other documents proving place of residence), and the original documents proving the error shall be brought for comparison.

b) In case of loss, damage, or deterioration of the death notice:

The relatives of the deceased must submit a Request for Reissuance of Death Notice as prescribed in Appendix III attached hereto to the medical treatment facility that initially issued the death notice. Within a maximum of one working day from receiving the request for reissuance of the death notice, the medical treatment facility shall recall the damaged or deteriorated death notice; check the information in the request and compare it with the retained copy of the death notice issued. The reissued death notice must clearly state the number and volume number of the original death notice and bear the stamp "Reissued." If verification is required, the verification period shall not exceed five working days.

Article 6. Models of the Death Cause Diagnosis Form at Medical Examination and Treatment Facilities, Death Notification Certificate, and Application for Reissuance of Death Notification Certificate

1. The following models of papers are issued together with this Circular:

a) The model of the Death Cause Diagnosis Form at medical examination and treatment facilities as stipulated in Appendix I;

b) The model of the Death Notification Certificate at medical examination and treatment facilities as stipulated in Appendix II;

c) The application for reissuance of the Death Notification Certificate as stipulated in Appendix III.

2. The Death Cause Diagnosis Form shall be on A4 paper size (210 x 297 mm). It shall be printed and filled with information related to the deceased person. The Death Cause Diagnosis Form will be attached and kept together with the medical record of the deceased person at the medical examination and treatment facility.

3. The Death Notification Certificate shall be printed and bound into a book. The size of the Death Notification Certificate Book shall be A4 paper size (210 x 297 mm). Each page in the book is divided into two parts with identical contents to record information related to the deceased person. The first part is handed over to the relatives of the deceased person, while the second part is retained by the medical examination and treatment facility for storage purposes. In cases where the medical examination and treatment facility is using management software, it does not need to be bound into a book, but must ensure printing and issuing the Death Notification Certificate according to the model prescribed in this Circular.

4. The Ministry of Health shall be responsible for providing the model of the Death Cause Diagnosis Form at medical examination and treatment facilities and the model of the Death Notification Certificate on the Ministry of Health's electronic portal. Medical examination and treatment facilities shall print the Death Cause Diagnosis Form and Death Notification Certificate for their own use.

5. Recording method: Detailed guidance is provided in the models of papers issued together with this Circular.

Article 7. Statistical Report on Death Cause Diagnosis Forms and Death Notification Certificates

1. The statistical report on the Death Cause Diagnosis Form at medical examination and treatment facilities includes: the number of Death Cause Diagnosis Forms of the medical examination and treatment facility; difficulties and obstacles encountered when implementing the Death Cause Diagnosis Form. Information contained in the Death Cause Diagnosis Form will be reported simultaneously with the statistical report on the issuance of the Death Notification Certificate as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The statistical reporting of data on the issuance of Death Notification Certificates is regulated in Circular No. 20/2019/TT-BYT dated July 31, 2019, of the Minister of Health on the Basic Statistical Indicators System of the Health Sector and Circular No. 37/2019/TT-BYT dated December 30, 2019, of the Minister of Health on the Reporting System of the Health Sector.

Article 8. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from February 1, 2021.

Article 9. Transitional Provisions

Death Notification Certificates issued by medical examination and treatment facilities before the date this Circular takes effect may continue to be used until December 31, 2021.

Article 10. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management shall be responsible for developing professional materials, training, and guiding medical examination and treatment facilities specified in Article 2 of this Circular to implement activities recording Death Cause Diagnosis Forms according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization; building a system for managing death cause information at medical examination and treatment facilities.

2. The Department of Planning and Finance shall be responsible for guiding medical examination and treatment facilities specified in Article 2 of this Circular to report statistical data on Death Cause Diagnosis Forms and Death Notification Certificates according to the regulations on the reporting system of the health sector.

3. Heads of units under and affiliated with the Ministry of Health; Directors of Provincial Health Departments, Central City Health Departments, Heads of Health Services of sectors, and relevant units shall base their functions and tasks assigned to direct the implementation of the provisions of this Circular. During the process of implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Health (Department of Planning and Finance, Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management) for consideration and resolution.

During the process of implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Health (Department of Planning and Finance, Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management) for consideration and resolution./.