Headlines - Regional Rollout of Electronic Death Certification

Since 2007, Inserm and InVS have been using the CertDc application, which allows physicians to enter a death certificate online and transmit the medical section—which is anonymous and confidential—almost immediately to the services responsible for analyzing causes of death (CépiDc-Inserm) and health surveillance (InVS). In addition to its value for public health alerts, electronic certification significantly improves the quality and accuracy of the information in death certificates [1]. In December 2012, version 2 of the application introduced new features to better adapt to the context of healthcare facilities. As a result, the certification rate is currently 4% in Franche-Comté, where electronic certification is routinely used by the Lure and Vesoul Hospital Centers (CH), and occasionally by the Belfort/Montbéliard Hospital Center. This rate is 6% in Burgundy, where certification is commonly used by the Nevers and Mâcon hospitals, and occasionally by the Dijon University Hospital and the La Mirandière Palliative Care Unit.