As outlined in previous reports, deaths which occur in Jamaica require certification by a qualified medical officer, doctor or pathologist. This process involves the determination of the events of cause of death as well as its documentation, along with all relevant demographic data for the deceased. This must be done according to the prescribed format under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act. The various forms of death certification include Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, Post Mortem Examination Report, Certificate of Coroner (Form D) or Coroner’s Certificate of the Findings of the Jury (Form E).

The Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death is normally completed by a medical doctor or officer who had been overseeing the care and/or treatment of the decedent and had last done so no more than six months before death had occurred. The essential purpose of the Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death is that the officer who completes and certifies it is reasonably certain of the cause of death of the decedent that he or she enters on it. If, for instance, someone was recently under the care of a physician and then died unexpectedly or suddenly, the physician might be in some doubt as to whether the morbid or disease condition, for which he or she had been attending the deceased prior to death, really was sufficient to cause the demise.  In this case, a post mortem may become necessary.