With shifts in health care economics, there has been increased interest in the performance of private autopsies. One force has been a desire of health care facilities to reduce costs by decreasing the number of autopsies performed since these are unreimbursed activities. With the shift to more outpatient treatment, more patients are dying outside of health care facilities. Finally, family members are concerned that their loved one may not have received optimal treatment.
Criteria for Performance of a Private Autopsy
(1) The case has been released by the coroner or medical examiner.
(2) A valid permit for postmortem examination has been obtained.
(3) The patient has not been previously treated at the hospital or its outpatient facilities and has not been recently discharged. Patients expiring in the Emergency Department without previous association with health care system may not be considered as being associated with the facility prior to death.
(4) There is not a physician on the medical staff of the health care facility willing to request the examination.
(5) The family has a strong interest in finding the cause of death, such as
(5a) contemplating malpractice suit against health care facility
(5b) other medicolegal concerns such as occupational exposure or injury
(5c) hereditary disorder
(5d) alleviation of guilt feelings
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