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Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc., August 2015 fhea.com
New Jersey APNs Can Now Sign Death
Certificates
A new law in New Jersey gives advanced practice nurs-
es (APNs) the authority to determine and certify cause
of death and sign a death certificate when the APN is
the primary care provider and a collaborating physi-
cian is not available.
Prior to the new law going into effect, APNs were al-
lowed to pronounce death and provide information re-
quired for the death certificate, but they were not au-
thorized to sign the death certificate.
Legal authority to sign the death certificate allows the
certificate to become a completed legal document and
be used for vital records data collection and decedent af-
fairs. Prior to the implementation of the new law, in New
Jersey the death certificate was not considered officially
completed without the signature of a physician.
The bill, A-1319/S-1152, was sponsored by state As-
semblywoman Nancy F. Munoz, RN. Twenty-seven oth-
er states have legislation in place that recognizes an
NP's signature.
Many Americans Report Experiencing
Severe, Chronic Pain Regularly
A new analysis of 2012 national health data shows that
most American adults have experienced some level of
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