Unifying the death notification form: Recommendations by the Saudi Health Council task force

Abstract

Objectives: Death reporting and certification forms are essential elements of a country’s healthcare policies. KSA faces several challenges regarding death reporting and certification. This study aims to provide recommendations to unify death notifications in Saudi Arabia. Methods: In 2019, the General Secretariat of the Saudi Health Council designed a qualitative research project that aimed to provide recommendations to unify death notifications. The council convened a task force of physicians and healthcare administrators to design and conduct qualitative research to review the Saudi Health Council’s policies related to death certification and investigate potential methods of improvement. In addition, the task force performed an extensive reviewof the literature andcurrent practices inKSA. Results: The task force proposed a set of robust recommendations to correct the issues affecting the current systems of death reporting and certification. Conclusions: This report presents the working methodology and recommendations of the task force.