Comparing Swedish hospital discharge records with death certificates: implications for mortality statistics

There is no apparent reason to question the death certificate if the main diagnosis and underlying cause agree, but cases in which the main diagnoses cannot be considered a complication of the reported underlying cause should be investigated and assessments made of the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of routinely linking hospital records to death certificates.

Abstract

There is no apparent reason to question the death certificate if the main diagnosis and underlying cause agree, or if the main diagnosis is a probable complication of the stated underlying cause. However, cases in which the main diagnosis cannot be considered a complication of the reported underlying cause should be investigated, and assessments made of the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of routinely linking hospital records to death certificates.