The Official Website of Florida
Vital Records
To protect, promote & improve the health of all people in Florida
through integrated state, county, & community efforts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Reference and Resources
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Question
Q. What does it cost
to use the Electronic Death Registration System?
A. The Department of Health does not charge for
access and use of the Electronic Death Registration System. You may incur
costs associated with obtaining the necessary computer equipment, printers
and/or internet connection as outlined below.
Q. I am a newly licensed funeral director and would like to get started
with EDRS. Is my computer powerful enough to handle it?
A. There are minimum technical specifications
particularly if your computer is more than five years old. If this is the
case, we suggest you call our Helpdesk and speak to a representative who will
assist you in understanding the necessary equipment.
The tutorial and the EDR System requires the following minimum
Hardware/Software:
-
Sound Card and a high speed
Internet connection
-
1.8GHz processor
-
128MB of RAM
-
64MB of VRAM (Video RAM)
-
Microsoft Windows XP or above
-
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, Firefox
2.0
Q.
I've submitted my
access forms; what happens next?
A. You must enroll and complete
the online tutorials for the funeral director or physician. These can be found at
www.icattlearning.com.
Q.
If
I've taken the tutorial, can I get access to the system?
A. Once all forms and
documentation have been processed, you will receive an email with your access information.
Q.
What is the website URL to access EDRS?
A.
https://ww5.doh.state.fl.us
Q. What is Fax Attestation?
A. Fax Attestation (FA) is a remote signature method for requesting
medical certification of the causes of death utilizing a fax machine. The word
“attestation” means to verify or confirm. Through the process of signing the Fax
Attestation Copy (FAC) and faxing it back to EDRS, the physician is attesting to
the accuracy of the causes of death that will appear on a decedent’s legal death
certificate.
Q. What fax number should I
enter?
A. Enter the fax number where the physician will be at that time. Some
physician’s have multiple offices, thus multiple fax numbers. You may want to
call the physician’s office to verify which fax number to use.
Q. Can I also amend the death certificate in EDRS?
A.
No. The amendment process is still paper.
Q. Can I register fetal deaths in EDRS?
A. Not at this time.
Fetal deaths are still registered manually between the funeral director and the
county health department.
Q.
I left my desk for 30 minutes and EDRS kicked me out. Why?
A. For security, EDRS will log you out of the
system after 30 minutes of inactivity with the server. Be careful and remember
to SAVE your work as you go along!
Q. How
do I
remove a user from EDRS who has left my organization?
A. Simply
use the form that you submitted previously to obtain Citrix access for that user, indicating on the form that the account
is to be deleted. Fax the form to the number provided and the
user account will be removed from EDRS.
Q.
Why do I need Pop-Ups? How do I enable Pop-Ups?
A. In EDRS, if you click to Print, the form will
open in an Adobe Pop-Up window. You must enable Pop-Ups to view
these forms. For Internet Explorer users, on the Tools menu, point to
Pop-up Blocker, and then click Pop-up Blocker Settings. In the Address of
Web Site to Allow box, type the URL address, and then click the Add
button.
For
Firefox users, Go to the Tools menu and select Options. Click on Web Features in
the list of options on the left side of the window. The right side of the window
should now display a series of check boxes. Check Block Popup Windows, if not
already checked. Click the Allowed Sites button, to the right of the Block Popup
Windows checkbox. Type the production EDRS URL in the Address of web site box..
Click the Allow button. Click OK.
Q. Should we
have Citrix Access forms completed for everyone in the office, both funeral
directors and staff, or should we complete the forms for those only typing the
death certificate
A. You should
complete access forms for funeral directors & staff who will be entering the
death record information. Not all staff will be involved in the actual
entry of information.
Q. How
soon should we have these forms turned into the State of Florida?
A. You should submit the
completed forms as soon as possible. The processing time could take up
to two weeks so the sooner we have the forms, the sooner we can begin the
process.
Q. Is there a charge for this?
A.
There is no charge to access EDRS
Q. Will the EDRS be mandatory for all doctors?
A.
In a manner of speaking, all Florida doctors will use the Electronic Death
Registration System. Physicians
will have the option of becoming an Online user or Fax
Attestation user. Specialized physicians such as hospice physicians, gerontologists,
oncologists, etc. routinely sign a larger volume of death records.
We encourage these professionals to become online users. Most physicians
infrequently sign death records and therefore will be fax users.
This fax looks very much like the paper death record & the physician simply
enters the info as they do now & faxes it back to the system.
Q. Will the doctors be required to attend
the training class?
A. There
is an online tutorial for the online physician user, but for the Fax
Attestation user, the funeral directors are communicating with the
physicians on how the system and related processes function.
Q. How
will the families receive the Certified Copies of the death certificate?
A.
The
process for receiving death certifications does not change, you should get
them from the county office.
Q. If the doctor has surpassed his/her 72
hours, will the funeral home be held responsible?
A. EDRS has a
series of emails to alert the funeral director that a record is still
outstanding. The process does not change, however, the funeral director still
must maintain contact with that physician if they go beyond the 72 hours. Once the record is
late, an email is sent to the funeral director, the county office and the state office.
Q. Will the cost for death certificates go
up in price with this new system?
A. There are no plans to make any fee changes related to EDRS.
If there is an amendment to be done, will
that also be electronic and are the prices going to be the same?
A. The
amendment process has not been incorporated into EDRS, so it is still the same
manual, paper process.
Q. Can the death certificate still be hand
delivered to the doctor?
A. No. The
physician will either receive the Fax Attestation; or will be an online user.
Q. If the death certificate is faxed to the doctor, is the doctor required type in the information since
the funeral home will have to transfer it before sending to the state?
A. The
physician will do pretty much what they do now, but when the funeral director
makes the initial call to the physician to verify that they will sign the
record, you can ask that they type or print the info since it will be the
funeral director trying to read what was entered.
