Alberta Health and Vital Statistics have worked with Connect Care to enable a digital workflow for completing the Medical Certificate of Death (MCoD). This minimizes double data entry by taking advantage of information abstracted from a patient's chart. As of December 9, 2025, the workflow is completely digital, including the signature.
- How to access: From the "Discharge as Deceased" navigator, authorized physicians and nurse practitioners can use the "Cert of Death" section to initiate a chart abstraction that will set up a MCoD using the patient's health data. The prescriber then validates the abstracted data and adds any information not already pulled from the deceased patient's chart.
- Note: It is important to complete all sections of the deceased navigator before starting the MCoD, as this ensures that current data (e.g., date and cause of death) is pulled into the digital MCoD.
- How to sign: The certificate is digitally signed, requiring the user to re-authenticate with their Connect Care password to confirm their identity. Since an electronic signature is accepted, death certificates can be completed by authorized prescribers at locations remote from the actual place of death.
- Printing: Once signed, the MCoD automatically prints to the patient's current location (e.g., inpatient ward, emergency room, clinic). It also attaches to the chart in the same location where scanned paper certificates would have appeared (Chart Review >> Media Tab). From there it can be re-printed as needed, or routed within Connect Care via In Basket or outside Connect Care via e-fax or mail. The printed form can be managed in the same way that a paper form would have been handled.
For more information, see: