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Morgue, Mortuary Services & Deceased Management

This section describes the clinical, mortuary, and legal certification workflows in Deceased Management, including death registration, automated inpatient bed release, morgue bay allocation, clinical cause of death certification, and authorized body release.

1. Before You Begin​

  • Authorized Roles: Attending Doctor (to certify death and complete cause of death), Ward Nurse, Mortuary Officer, Medical Records Clerk.
  • Clinical Principle: Death registration triggers an immediate atomic bed release on the inpatient ward to prevent census deadlocks, while body release is blocked until official digital medical certification is signed.

2. Step-by-Step Deceased Management Workflow​

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> DeceasedRegistered: Death Occurs (Ward/ED/BID)
    DeceasedRegistered --> InMorgue: Allocate Morgue Bay
    InMorgue --> CertificateSigned: Doctor Signs Medical Cause of Death
    CertificateSigned --> BodyReleased: Authorized Body Release with Witness
    BodyReleased --> [*]

Step 1: Register Death & Automated Bed Release​

  1. Open Deceased Management (accessible from Ward Census, Emergency, or Admin menu).
  2. Click + Register Deceased:
    • Patient Selection: Select patient from active inpatient/outpatient encounters, or register Brought-In-Dead (BID) case.
    • Date & Exact Time of Death: Recorded to the minute.
    • Place of Death: Ward Name, Bed Number, ICU, Emergency Resus Bay, or Off-Facility.
    • Certifying Medical Officer: Select attending physician.
  3. Click Submit Registration:
    • Automated Bed Release: The system automatically discharges the patient from the ward bed and switches the bed status from Occupied → Cleaning (Yellow).
Register Deceased Patient and Bed Release Screen
Register Deceased Patient and Bed Release Screen🔍 Click to enlarge
Register Deceased Patient and Bed Release Screen
Register Deceased Patient and Bed Release Screen🔍 Click to enlarge

Step 2: Morgue Bay Allocation​

  1. In the Morgue Bay Console, review incoming deceased records awaiting refrigeration bay placement.
  2. Click Assign Bay:
    • Visual grid displays all morgue refrigeration compartments (e.g., Bay 01 through Bay 24).
    • Select an Available bay.
    • Status updates to In Morgue.
    • Generates waterproof mortuary toe-tag barcode label for physical identification.
Mortuary Bay Registry and Compartment Allocation
Mortuary Bay Registry and Compartment Allocation🔍 Click to enlarge

Step 3: Medical Death Certification & ICD-10 Cause of Death​

  1. The certifying Doctor opens the deceased record to complete the legal Medical Certificate of Cause of Death:
    • Part I (Immediate & Underlying Cause):
      • Line (a): Immediate disease/condition directly leading to death (e.g., Septic Shock).
      • Line (b): Morbid condition giving rise to above (e.g., Peritonitis).
      • Line (c): Underlying primary cause with ICD-10 code (e.g., K65.0 - Acute Peritonitis secondary to perforated appendicitis).
    • Part II (Contributing Conditions): Other significant chronic comorbidities (e.g., E11.9 - Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus).
    • Manner of Death: Natural, Accidental, Homicide, Suicide, Under Investigation / Coroner Referral.
    • Autopsy: Check if Post-Mortem examination is required.
  2. Apply digital signature. Certificate status updates from Pending → Signed.
Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and ICD-10 Cause Screen
Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and ICD-10 Cause Screen🔍 Click to enlarge
Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and ICD-10 Cause Screen
Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and ICD-10 Cause Screen🔍 Click to enlarge

Step 4: Family Handover & Body Release Authorization​

graph LR
    A[1. Verify Signed Death Certificate] --> B[2. Verify Next-of-Kin ID]
    B --> C[3. Dual-Witness Authorization]
    C --> D[4. Issue Release Permit & Vacate Bay]
  1. Click Process Body Release.
  2. The system checks prerequisite status:
    • ⛔ Hard-Stop Gate: If the Death Certificate is unsigned, the release button is disabled.
  3. Record Claiming Details:
    • Next of Kin Name & National ID Number.
    • Relationship to Deceased (Spouse, Child, Parent, Elder).
    • Funeral Home / Hearse Registration Number.
  4. Dual Authorization: Mortuary Officer and Security / Administrative Witness enter PIN credentials.
  5. Click Authorize Release:
    • Status transitions to Released.
    • Morgue bay is vacated and marked for disinfection.
    • Prints official Burial / Cremation Permit & Release Slip.
Mortuary Body Release Authorization and Witness Sign-Off Dialog
Mortuary Body Release Authorization and Witness Sign-Off Dialog🔍 Click to enlarge

3. Workflow Result & Departmental Handoff​

✅
Expected Result:

The deceased case is officially archived in the Civil Registration & Vital Statistics (CRVS) registry, mortality indices are updated in Surveillance reports, and mortuary capacity is dynamically restored.