A new model for streamlining and improving the quality of death certificates.

• There will be only to fill a single form for the certification of death for registration for statistical purposes. Enter into force next January 1 and will be distributed, as now, through the Colleges of Physicians


The National Statistics Institute (INE) and the General Council of Colleges of Physicians (CGCOM) have reached an agreement to launch a new set of "Medical Certificate of Death / Death Statistics Bulletin," so as to delete the current task being undertaken by doctors in this area and have a unique tool used to register both functions. This implies not only a breakthrough in the simplification of tasks but also in improving quality.

Currently, the law distinguishes between the death registration and certification thereof. In this way, the task of certifying doctors was doubled because of a party must certify the death in the corresponding medical certificate of death and otherwise, have to fill in the section on causes of death in the Statistical Bulletin of Deaths .

There are two official statistics on deaths, compiled by the INE: Natural Movement of Population (births, deaths, marriages) and Deaths by cause of death. For both statistics using the Statistical Bulletin of Deaths, part of which-in particular on the causes of death-to be completed by the medical certifier. For his part, CGCOM as Public Law Corporation, is the only body authorized to edit and distribute the forms of medical officers, including the medical certificate of death "will be used to prove that, with the requirements and impacts identified in existing laws and regulations. "

Therefore, given the need to eliminate this task and establish a new form of more rapid and effective action, within the competences of each part, and NSIs CGCOM have agreed to produce and edit a new set of Certified Doctor Death and Statistical Bulletin in order to provide a single document for both the registration of death in the Civil Registry to compile statistics of the Natural Movement of Population.


The new series will run for instructions for death to occur in the civil registers from January 1 2009 and will CGCOM distribution through the Colleges of Physicians in the same way as is being done in currently with the medical certificate of death.

The signing of the agreement and presentation has been delivered by the Chairman of the National Institute of Statistics, Jaume García Villar and Vice President of the General Council of Medical Colleges, Ricard Gutierrez in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Medical School.

Quality and certification

Certification is a medical act, subject to the requirements contained in the statutory and ethical standards of the Medical College Organization (WTO), and in particular to the provisions of Title VI of the General Statutes (art.58-61) and in the current Code of Ethics and Medical Ethics of the Medical College Organization (Article 11). The medical certificate of death is a document subject to the rules of professional responsibility. CERTIFY clause in the medical report gives you the value of a legally-certified and as such, public document and provides a supplement to its content testimonial guarantee and commitment.

Considering the importance of death certificates to understand the causes of death and its determinants, the WTO will initiate an immediate update of a training strategy to improve the quality and content of certificates.