Impact of Medical Examiners and Coroners in Public Health
Public health relies on medical examiners and coroners for quality data about deaths they investigate including those that are sudden, unexpected, or unexplained.
Medicolegal death investigations conducted by medical examiners and coroners are crucial to understanding causes of death, monitoring evolving health challenges, and – ultimately – saving lives.
Collaborating Office of Medical Examiners and Coroners
The Collaborating Office of Medical Examiners and Coroners (COMEC) works to bring together resources from across CDC to support the work in the medical examiner and coroner community.
Writing Cause-of-Death Statements on Death Certificates
To improve mortality statistics, we offer online trainings, publications, presentations, and guidance for investigating deaths and certifying cause-of-death on death certificates.
Modernizing Death Data and Systems
To modernize the nation’s death data and systems and promote quality and timely data, we engage with medical examiners and coroners by offering support and resources.
Highlighted Links
Federal Interagency Medicolegal Death Investigation Working Group
Strengthening medicolegal death investigation through collaboration
Modernizing the National Vital Statistics Systems
Reinventing the National Vital Statistics Systems to make data on births and deaths more available for action.
Coroner/Medical Examiner Laws by State (CDC Public Health Law)
State Medical Examiners and Coroners Organizations
Directory of ME/C offices around the country
Improving the timeliness and quality of drug overdose death data
Developing disaster-related death investigation materials (National Center for Environmental Health)
More specific and up-to-date information from medical examiners and coroners is improving mortality data and statistics
Data Timeliness
More death records faster
Medical examiners and coroners have made a significant contribution to our nation’s ability to meet death reporting goals, especially for major public health crises like drug overdose and suicide.
Data Quality
Battling the opioid epidemic
Medical examiners and coroners have increased specific-drug reporting on death certificates up to 94% as of 2019, helping to recognize changes in the pattern of the opioid epidemic.
- National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME)
- International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners
- The American Academy of Forensic Sciences
- The American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators
- American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
- NIST: Medicolegal Death Investigation Subcommittee
- Federal Interagency Medicolegal Death Investigation Working Group