"There was supposed to be electronic progress, and instead we have a return to paper bureaucracy. It was supposed to be easier, and it turns out that it has become much more difficult. Death cards, which were supposed to be the new standard, turn out to be just a new print, but a familiar problem," assesses the Zielonogórska Porozumienie Zielonogórskie. Doctors, who until now only filled out the section of medical causes of death, now also have to deal with additional information, which until now was the responsibility of registry officials.
Zielonogórska Porozumienie: confusion with death cards
Published Jan. 26, 2024 11:08
fot. Piotr Wójcik
As experts from the Zielonogórski Alliance note, the new regulations, effective from January 2024, impose on doctors to fill out the death card, including in the part that until now was the task of USC officials. It turns out that the data that must be entered have no relation to either the cause of death or the health of the deceased.
- We have to question the bereaved family about the deceased's education, marital status, family name, parents' names, length of stay in the Republic, among other things. The family often does not know all the details. It's kind of absurd," assesses Joanna Szeląg, an expert from the Federation of the Zielonogórskie Alliance.
Doctors point out that they are not even prepared for the role of administrative services. - This is not a doctor's role. Are we supposed to deal with statistics? We enter information unrelated to the death. We have absolutely no way to verify them. We have to rely on what the family of the deceased remembers," points out Malgorzata Stokowska-Wojda, a family medicine specialist.
One did not have to wait long for the results. In the first half of January alone, officials sent back 75 percent of the cards incorrectly filled out or with deficiencies.
Joanna Szeląg, an expert from the Federation Porozumienie Zielonogórskie, notes another disturbing aspect of the new rules: We fill out a death card and hand such a document to, for example, a funeral home employee. This is a document that contains a lot of information. What happens if someone manages to use it?
Experts from the Federation of the Zielonogórskie Alliance call for fair consideration of the new regulations, paying attention to practical aspects and the protection of citizens' privacy.
Elaborated. based on: press release
