Category: death certificate

Hypertension-related Mortality in the United States, 2000–2013

Hypertension is a chronic condition that can lead to heart disease, stroke, and other diseases that can result in premature death. Reducing the number of persons in the population with hypertension is one of the objectives of Healthy People 2020. Using national multiple cause-of-death data files from the National Vital Statistics System, a new NCHS report presents Read More >

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Nosologists: What Do They Do and Why Is It Important?

Medical coders Celia Dickens, Tyringa Crawford, and Holly Lambert pose behind a manual. They are part of a select group; around the world there are only a few mortality coders.

“How many causes of death are there?” The question makes the experts from the Division of Vital Statistics (DVS) share looks and smiles as they point towards enormous binders. A death certificate often includes a series of conditions that led to the death of an individual. Each condition has a code and is tracked on Read More >

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New study examines quality of race and ethnicity data on death certificates

A new study has been released that compares race and ethnicity data on death certificates with U.S. Census Bureau information. The result? American Indians and Alaska Natives are poorly reported on death certificates (that is, funeral directors may not be classifying decedents correctly). Reporting is considered good for Asian/Pacific Islanders and Hispanics and excellent for Read More >

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