South Carolina H 3616: Death Certificates

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3616 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 12, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3616

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH 
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-63-74, RELATING IN PART TO MEDICAL 
CERTIFICATIONS OF CAUSE OF DEATH, SO AS TO REQUIRE HOSPITALS TO PROVIDE TO A 
DECEASED PATIENT'S FAMILY THE CAUSE OF DEATH TO BE TRANSMITTED TO THE BUREAU OF 
VITAL STATISTICS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 44-63-74(A)(3) and (5) of the S.C. Code is 
amended to read:

 (3)(a) Medical certifications of cause of death must be 
completed and returned to the funeral home director within forty-eight hours 
after receipt of notice of the death by the physician in charge of the patient's 
care for the illness or condition which resulted in death, except when an 
inquiry is required by a coroner or medical examiner. If the cause of death 
cannot be determined within forty-eight hours after death, the medical 
certification must be entered as pending, and the physician, medical examiner, 
or coroner shall submit a supplemental report to the state registrar on a form 
furnished by or approved by him as soon as practicable. The supplemental report 
shall be made a part of the death certificate. If the forty-eight 
hourforty-eight-hour period terminates on a 
weekend, federal holiday, or state holiday, the physician must file the 
certification by the end of the next business day. In the absence of this 
physician or with his approval, the certificate may be completed by his 
associate physician, the chief medical officer of the institution in which the 
death occurred, or by the pathologist who performed an autopsy upon the 
decedent.

 (b) The cause of a hospital patient's 
death to be listed on the medical certification of cause of death for 
transmission to the Bureau of Vital Statistics pursuant to item (1) must be 
provided to the patient's family before the patient's body is released from the 
facility and before the patient's family completes any required patient 
discharge processes.

 (5)(a) A physician who fails to certify 
the cause of death within forty-eight hours in accordance 
with the requirements of item (3)(a) or a hospital that fails to provide the 
cause of death to the patient's family in accordance with the requirements of 
item (3)(b), without good cause shown, may be assessed an administrative 
penalty for violating item (3). The department shall notify the Board of 
Medical Examiners if a penalty is assessed against a 
physician. Each day after the initial forty-eight 
hourforty-eight-hour period shall constitute 
an additional violation.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on December 12, 2024 at 04:49 PM