4161 - Fetal death certificates; form and content; physicians, midwives and hospital administrators.
§ 4161. Fetal death certificates; form and content; physicians, midwives and hospital administrators. 1. The certificate of fetal death and the report of fetal death shall contain such information and be in such form as the commissioner may prescribe, except that unless requested by the woman neither the certificate nor the report of fetal death shall contain the name of the woman, her social security number or any other information which would permit her to be identified except as provided in this subdivision. The report shall state that a certificate of fetal death was filed with the commissioner and the date of such filing. The commissioner shall develop a unique, confidential identifier to be used on the certificate of fetal death to be used in connection with the exercise of the commissioner's authority to monitor the quality of care provided by any individual or entity licensed to perform an abortion in this state and to permit coordination of data concerning the medical history of the woman for purposes of conducting surveillance scientific studies and research pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (j) of subdivision one of section two hundred six of this chapter. 2. In each case where a physician was in attendance at, or after, a fetal death it shall be the duty of such physician to certify to the birth and to the cause of death on the fetal death certificate. Where a nurse-midwife was in attendance at a fetal death it shall be the duty of such nurse-midwife to certify to the birth but she shall not certify to the cause of death on the fetal death certificate. 3. Fetal deaths occurring without the attendance of a physician as defined in subdivision two of this section shall be treated as deaths without medical attendance, as provided in this article. 4. When a fetal death occurs in a hospital, except in those cases where certificates are issued by coroners or medical examiners, the person in charge of such hopistal or his designated representative shall promptly present the certificate to the physician in attendance or a physician acting in his behalf who shall promptly certify to the facts of birth and of fetal death, provide the medical information required by the certificate, sign the medical certificate of birth and death and thereupon return such certificate to such person, so that the seventy-two hour registration time limit prescribed in section four thousand one hundred sixty of this chapter can be met.