Module guide · Operations

Mortuary

Registering a death auto-assigns a body tag and, where available, a cold-storage unit. From there the case moves through autopsy, next-of-kin notification, and certification, until property is returned and the body is released, with a full chain-of-custody trail at every step.

Overview Dashboard Decedent registry Cold storage Body releases Autopsy & ME/Coroner Next-of-kin notifications Property & documents Statistics & reports Service charges Good practices

What this module is for

One broad role group covers nine screens; recording service charges is a separate, narrower billing-oriented group.

Who uses it

Mortuary staff, physicians, pathologists, HIM, compliance, admins, and directors can use every screen except Service Charges, which is limited to mortuary staff, billing, finance managers, CFOs, admins, and directors instead.

Where to find it

Open Mortuary from the sidebar. A dashboard, plus Decedent Registry, Cold Storage, Body Releases, Autopsy & ME/Coroner, Next-of-Kin Notifications, Property & Belongings, Case Documents, Statistics & Reports, and Service Charges.

1
Register the death
Intake creates a body tag, auto-assigns a storage unit if one's free, and flags autopsy/ME-coroner/organ-donor needs.
2
Work the case
Log cold-storage temperature readings, complete any autopsy or ME/Coroner referral, and notify next of kin.
3
Track belongings and paperwork
Log personal property and upload/sign supporting documents against the case.
4
Release
Confirm the recipient and disposition; the release form is generated and the case closes out.

A few terms you'll see throughout

ME/Coroner case means a legal/forensic referral is required. NOK is next of kin. A temperature-alert storage unit means a reading fell outside its configured safe range.

Dashboard

A read-only snapshot of caseload, storage capacity, and outstanding compliance items.

Stat tiles

Field	What it means
Bodies In Storage, Available Units, Occupied Units, Temp Alerts	Temp Alerts highlighted red if greater than zero.
Pending NOK Notification, Pending Certifications, Pending Autopsies, Pending ME/Coroner Cases	First two highlighted amber if greater than zero.
Deaths This Month, Deaths This Year, Organ Donor Cases (Month)

A Manner of Death breakdown chart, a Top Causes of Death list, and Cold Storage Capacity panel. Banners flag temperature alerts, pending NOK notifications, and pending death certificates the moment any exist.

Decedent registry

Intake and case management: register a death, track its status, and produce official paperwork.

"Register Death" form

Field	What it means
Patient, Pronounced By, Pronounced At, Cause of Death*
Date/Time of Death, Location of Death
Manner of Death	Natural, Accident, Homicide, Suicide, Undetermined, Pending Investigation, or Could Not Be Determined.
ICD-10 Code	Optional lookup, auto-fills the cause-of-death description.
Autopsy requested, ME/Coroner case, Biohazard precautions, Organ donor	Checkboxes.
Next of Kin Name/Phone, Delivered By (name, relationship, phone)

A case's detail view has Body Status and Certification Status dropdowns, and generates the intake receipt, death certificate, and (once released) release form as print/download PDFs.

In Storage —

Autopsy / Embalming In Progress —

Released —

Other statuses — Received, Embalmed, Transferred, Unclaimed, Donated to Science, and more

Cold storage

Manage refrigeration units: occupancy, temperature readings, and alerts.

"New Storage Unit" form

Field	What it means
Unit Number*
Section, Max Weight (kg), Capacity (bodies)
Biohazard-capable	Checkbox.

Each unit card shows an occupancy bar and a live temperature reading against its acceptable range; a card turns red-bordered while in temperature alert. Log Temp records a new reading; Reset to Available clears an Occupied/Quarantine/Maintenance unit back to Available.

Available —

Occupied —

Quarantine —

Maintenance / Out of Service —

Body releases

Process the official release of a body and generate its paperwork.

"Release" form

Field	What it means
Release Type, Released To*	Next of Kin, Funeral Home, Medical Examiner, Coroner, Organ Procurement, Medical School Donation, State Burial, Repatriation, or Law Enforcement.
Relationship to Decedent, Funeral Home, Planned Disposition	Funeral Home shown when Release Type is Funeral Home.

Confirming records the release date and the staff member handling it for the chain-of-custody trail, then offers the release form to print or download. Certification status is shown for reference only, it doesn't block a release.

Autopsy & ME/Coroner

Two side-by-side worklists for cases flagged at intake as needing an autopsy or a legal/forensic referral.

Forms

Field	What it means
Record Autopsy: Autopsy Type, Findings	Type: Complete, Limited, External Only, Forensic, Clinical, Minimally Invasive, or Virtopsy.
ME/Coroner Referral: Case Number, Office, Referral accepted

Only cases flagged Autopsy Requested or ME/Coroner Case at registration appear here; saving autopsy findings records the performing staff member and marks consent as obtained.

Next-of-kin notifications

Track attempts to reach a decedent's family and log the outcome.

"Notify" form

Field	What it means
Contact Name, Contact Phone
Result*	Pending, Notified, Attempted, Unable to Reach, Refused, or Not Required.

Submitting logs a new attempt and updates the case's overall NOK status, which is what feeds the dashboard's Pending NOK counter.

Property & documents

Search a decedent by name or body tag to log personal belongings or manage case documents.

Add Property Item / Upload Document

Field	What it means
Item Name, Quantity*	Description, Estimated Value optional.
Document Title, Document Type*	Type: Consent Form, Autopsy Report, Release Authorization, ID Verification, or Other.

A property item's Release action prompts for who it's released to and records the staff member handling it; documents can be signed (one-way, records the signer) or deleted.

Statistics & reports

Year-scoped analytics plus bulk export/import of case data.

Panels (all scoped to a chosen year)

Field	What it means
Manner of Death, Body Traffic (admissions vs releases)
Top Causes of Death, Storage Occupancy Trend
Avg. Length of Stay, Avg. Autopsy Turnaround	Days and hours respectively.
Mortuary Charges Revenue Trend

Export CSV/Excel downloads the full year's case data; Import CSV bulk-loads records and reports imported vs. failed counts.

Service charges

Billable mortuary fees, posted automatically to the general ledger, a narrower billing-oriented role group.

"Record Mortuary Charge" form

Field	What it means
Charge Type, Description, Amount*	Type: Storage, Embalming, Transport, Autopsy, Administrative, or Other. Amount must be greater than zero.
Paid immediately	Checkbox; reveals a Payment Method field (defaults CASH) if checked, otherwise it's billed to the account.

Charges post automatically

A confirmation explicitly states the charge was recorded and posted to the General Ledger, no separate bookkeeping entry is needed.

Good practices

Log a temperature reading on the schedule your policy requires

A unit's alert flag and the dashboard's Temp Alerts count only reflect readings that have actually been logged.

Complete NOK notification before release where possible

The system doesn't block a release on notification status, but the audit trail reads better when the family was reached first.

Document signing and case charge amounts can't be edited after the fact

A signed document can't be unsigned, and charges post straight to the general ledger, double-check details before confirming either.

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