A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-63-74, RELATING TO MEDICAL CERTIFICATIONS ON DEATH CERTIFICATES, SO AS TO LIST FENTANYL POISONING AS THE CAUSE OF DEATH IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  Section 44-63-74(A)(3) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    (3)(a) Medical certifications of cause of death must be completed and returned to the funeral home director within forty-eight hours after receipt of notice of the death by the physician in charge of the patient's care for the illness or condition which resulted in death, except when an inquiry is required by a coroner or medical examiner. If the cause of death cannot be determined within forty-eight hours after death, the medical certification must be entered as pending, and the physician, medical examiner, or coroner shall submit a supplemental report to the state registrar on a form furnished by or approved by him as soon as practicable. The supplemental report shall be made a part of the death certificate. If the forty-eight hour period terminates on a weekend, federal holiday, or state holiday, the physician must file the certification by the end of the next business day. In the absence of this physician or with his approval, the certificate may be completed by his associate physician, the chief medical officer of the institution in which the death occurred, or by the pathologist who performed an autopsy upon the decedent.

           (b) The medical certification on a death certificate must include either the term "Fentanyl Poisoning" or the term "Fentanyl Toxicity" as the cause of death if:

               (i) a toxicology examination reveals a fentanyl-related controlled substance, including any fentanyl-related controlled substance listed in Section 44-53-190, present in the body of the decedent in an amount or concentration that is considered to be lethal by generally accepted scientific standards; and

               (ii) the results of an autopsy performed on the decedent are consistent with an opioid overdose as the cause of death.

 

SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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