(a)An amending certificate (medical amendment) may
be filed with the appropriate Local Registrar or State Registrar electronically
through a Vital Statistics Section [Unit] electronic
death registration system to complete or correct medical certification
information on a certificate of death that is incomplete or inaccurate.
The medical amendment must be in a format as prescribed by the department.
(b)Once the original death certificate is registered,
if [A certificate described in subsection (a) of this section
shall only be filed upon completion by the individual responsible
for the certification of the original death certificate. If the original
was certified by a physician, and] a justice of the peace (JP)
or medical examiner's office (ME) has subsequently conducted an inquest
as authorized by the Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 49, the medical
amendment may be filed by the JP or ME that conducted the inquest.
(c)The registrar shall carefully examine each medical
amendment when presented for registration to determine if it is complete
as required by the State Registrar's instructions.
(d)If the medical amendment is incomplete or unsatisfactory,
the registrar shall call attention to the error or [and/or
] omission in the return.
(e)The registrar shall number the medical amendment
with the same file number assigned to the original death certificate.
The Local Registrar shall sign each medical amendment to attest to
the date the amendment is filed in the Local Registrar's office. The
signature may be either electronic, handwritten or a facsimile stamp.
The medical amendment shall be attached to and become a part of the
legal record of the death if the amendment is accepted for filing.
(f)The registrar shall duplicate the medical amendment
as authorized by the Local Government Code, Chapters 201 or 204. The
duplicate shall be permanently preserved in the Local Registrar's [
local registrar's] office as the local record, in the manner
directed by the State Registrar [state registrar].
(g)The registrar shall forward all original non-electronic,
medical amendments to the State Registrar [state registrar
] within 10 days of filing.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed
the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's legal authority
to adopt.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 24, 2021
TRD-202103330 Scott A. Merchant
Interim General Counsel
Department of State Health Services
Earliest possible date of adoption: October 10, 2021
For further information, please call: (512) 776-7646
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