Only 23% of deaths medically certified in Karnataka in 2021: Report

The data was revealed in the latest Report on Medical Certification of Cause of Death 2021 by the Office of the Registrar General of India.

Even as Karnataka faced the devastating second wave of Covid-19 in 2021, only 23.1 per cent of the 6.6 lakh registered deaths that year were medically certified, placing the state slightly below the national average of 23.4 per cent, Deccan Herald reported.

Another contributing factor is the low participation from hospitals in reporting certified deaths.

The data was revealed in the latest Report on Medical Certification of Cause of Death 2021 by the Office of the Registrar General of India, the DH report added.

Medical certification of deaths is essential for understanding public health trends and guiding policy. Yet, Karnataka’s figures have seen a steady decline over the past three years, from 30.4 per cent in 2019, to 28.7 per cent in 2020, and down to 23.1 per cent in 2021. In urban areas, the drop was steeper, falling from 68.1 per cent in 2019 to 48.6 per cent in 2021.

Officials explain gaps

According to the publication, officials point to multiple reasons: lax record-keeping, ambiguity in identifying a root cause of death, especially in Covid cases, and families skipping certification amid the pandemic’s chaos. 

The report also found that of the medically certified deaths, 30 per cent were due to Covid-19, higher than the 21.1 per cent attributed to circulatory diseases, a reversal of the national trend where heart-related conditions remain the top cause.

Another contributing factor is the low participation from hospitals in reporting certified deaths. Of the 4,351 hospitals with in-patient facilities in Karnataka covered under the Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD) system, fewer than half (42.4 per cent) submitted relevant data.

Officials from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics also highlighted challenges with non-institutional deaths, for which Form 4(A), used for certifying home deaths, is often not submitted or lacks clear cause.

Health Department Principal Secretary Harsh Gupta acknowledged the gap and said that efforts are underway to address it, with the Centre launching pilot projects in two taluks in Karnataka to improve data capture and awareness, the report further added.