The postmortem examination and death certificate by the general practitioner: problems with certification on site

摘要

Family doctors are the most competent persons for the postmortem examination due to their knowledge of the patient, previous history, and the circumstances of death. The postmortem examination is a medical activity with specific requirements for the physician that require special training. The situation on site enables the physician to gather important information about the circumstances of death. However, a local postmortem examination is also carried out under difficult conditions, without personal or professional support and in an environment that knows neither the meaning nor the procedure of a postmortem examination. Differences in the understanding of the terms unnatural or unclarified death type lead to conflicts between physicians and the surrounding field of the deceased.