Perceived Strengths,Limitations,and Needs of Death Investigation Systems in States that Lack a State Medical Examiner

Based on a one-month online survey that was announced to 640 subscribers of the National Association of Medical Examiners’ NAME-L listserv, perceived strengths, limitations, and needs of death investigations systems were obtained for the 25 states that lack a state medical examiner. Forty-one persons responded to the survey and at least one response was obtained from each of the 25 states. Overall, strengths could be summarized into categories that include the local nature of death investigation (e.g., items related to coroners, medical examiners, forensic pathologists, and accreditation and certification) and issues related to finances, organization, and system oversight. Perceived limitations fell into similar general categories but the largest group of comments consisted of coroner-related concerns. Needs could be categorized into issues which relate to facilities and death investigation system features; finances; coroners, forensic pathologists, and accreditation and certification; standards, training, and education; and research and technology. Specific strengths, limitations, and perceived needs are summarized in tables showing the states citing those features. We hope these data will be useful to those who wish to further study death investigation systems in the various states.