Safety in the autopsy suite: assessing safety training gaps in Medical Examiner and Coroner communities

Authors

• MA Diaz
• J McCormick-Ell

Abstract

In 2018, the Medical Examiner/Coroner (ME/C) system investigated approximately 20% of deaths in the United States. Medical examiners are typically physicians, while coroners are elected or appointed officials with no requirements to be a physician. ME/Cs conduct death scene investigations, perform autopsies, and determine the cause and manner of death. The information collected by ME/Cs helps inform public health officials of trending communicable diseases. The work conducted by the ME/C system comes with unique risks. A common hazard in the death care industry is the possibility of becoming infected through autopsies of highly infectious decedents. Unfortunately, there is not much information on how ME/C protect themselves and their employees. We seek to understand more about how ME/C train themselves and their offices to be safety conscious by conducting a gap-analysis survey. We will investigate the prevalence and characterization of safety training among surveyed medical examiner and coroner offices. This study will show availability of safety training and any discrepancies between ME/Cs.

Scientific Focus Area: Research Support Services

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