Six in 10 death certificates in Greece contain mistakes, conference hears
Six in 10 death certificates issued in Greece contain serious errors, the head of the association representing the country’s coroners told a medical conference on Crete.
The majority of the mistakes are located in the way cause of death is described and recorded, according to Grigoris Leon, who called for more vigorous training, starting at medical school.
Medical death certificates, Leon stressed, are the source of statistics on mortality and these statistics constitute the basis “of one of the oldest and most comprehensive systems of monitoring public health.”
He added that these statistics are also used to determine public health policy, as well as by researchers, doctors and educational institutions, and that errors may lead to mistaken conclusions.
Leon was addressing the 18th Pan-Cretan Medical Conference, which took place November 4-6 in Rethymno.
