Improving Contagious Disease Reporting in a Medical Examiner's Office

Contagious disease reporting is an important mechanism for public health officials to be informed of emerging and ongoing risks to the community's health. There are several mechanisms for reporting, including automated reporting from computer sources, required reporting from physicians and other health care professionals, and reporting of sales of certain over-the-counter medications such as cold remedies.Reporting by medical examiners is a significant source of information because contagious disease may first come to the medical examiner by causing sudden unexpected death. This study describes how the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner improved contagious disease reporting from coroner's cases. Methods used include computerized transmission to public health of initial coroner's case reports, e-mailed requests to the coroner to obtain cultures, having all results of coroner's cultures come through a single person who reports contagious disease as necessary, and including infectious disease screening in retrospective case review.