The D.A.V.E. Go-Live dates is Monday, October 2, 2017. Visit the D.A.V.E. web page for information about Funeral Home training and videos.
Register by September 5th for the September 11th in-person D.A.V.E. Training.
On-board your funeral home and staff for D.A.V.E. by completing the registration packet linked below and fax the documents to the ADHS office at 602-364-1257.
| ► Funeral Home Registration Packet Updated 7.25.2017 (DAVE) |
Message from the Arizona Department of Health Services:
On behalf of the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Bureau of Vital Records, we appreciate your partnership throughout this process.
A special thank you to Hillary Adair for preparing the below communication document to serve as a model for funeral homes to use to expedite the collection of information from families in preparation for the new Database Application for Vital Events (DAVE) system. Great job Hillary! The overall intent of the attached communication is for funeral homes to collect the family member’s e-mail address during the first call/contact then e-mail the attached information to them.
| ► Funeral Homes Sample E-mail or Letter for family – 8-28-17 |
D.A.V.E. Questions
Over the past few weeks, our members have brought questions and concerns to the attention of the AFCCA. We put these concerns into a Letter of Concern and addressed them on our member’s behalf, along with the help of our legal advisors Trish Hart and John K. Mangum, with the Arizona Department of Health Services.
The AFCCA and ADHS are aware there will be bumps in the road as there always is with implementing a new system, however, we are both committed to doing everything possible to help our Funeral Homes be successful during the process.
Below is a list of concerns that were addressed on a conference call with ADHS as well as their solutions/answers to the questions.
Please note that this is intended to be an on-going conversation between all involved. Please do not hesitate to share any more questions and concerns with the AFCCA or during any training with ADHS.
- On-boarding of Medical Certifiers to comply with 100% Electronic Registration.
ADHS is fully aware of the difficulty this presents. There are 3000 Medical Certifiers in the state of Arizona and they are doing everything possible to ensure that these physicians are on-boarded quickly and easily. Doctors are NOT required to take the training in order to be entered into the system. It is recommended, but ADHS will not hold up a registration by a doctor who did not participate in the training. ADHS has reached out and sent letters to all hospitals, doctor offices, and medical boards & commissions on file. They have also sent out mass emails concerning this new information. Facilities will have both Physician and administrator roles. Physicians that work within medical groups can transfer the death certificate to another physician in order to have it signed quickly in cases were the main physician is out of town. They assure us they are doing everything possible to make sure this is a smooth transition. Finally, they will provide Funeral Home Partners with information to pass along to medical certifiers they work with on how to on-board to the system. - Cause of death validations.
In no case will a wrong cause of death validation bounce back to the funeral home. These will 100% be on the physician to correct. In cases where a physician is unsure of a cause, they may consult with medical examiner, however, if a ME decides it is not a case they will take on, then the ME will communicate BACK to the physician as to why it is not an ME case. The counties will no longer be validating causes of death. Cause of death is 100% on the physician side and Funeral Directors will not be responsible for verifying. - Permit issued once death certificate is recorded.
Permits are issued instantaneously as soon as the death is registered. Deaths must be registered within 7 days regardless of information obtained. If a Funeral Director or family member is unsure of information, they are to enter unknown into the appropriate fields and still register death within 7 days. This will ensure that permits are received in a timely fashion and will avoid delays in transportation or burial for the family. Any changes made at a later date will result in a $30 charge. - Public fiduciary deaths and international ship out delays.
Same information as above applies to public fiduciary deaths and international ship outs. The funeral home must still register the death within 7 days with as much information that is known. As information is received, the death record can be updated, but registration must still happen within 7 days. - Correction fees/family responsibility of corrections.
Funeral homes are able to make amendments and submit supporting documents on behalf of the family through the DAVE system, in fact this is encouraged as it is an automatic process instead of manual. While there is still an amendment fee of $30, you can include as many changes to the death record as needed within in one request. This is why it works to register the death with unknown information in order to receive the permit, and then for one $30 fee at a later date, the funeral home can make these changes on behalf of the family. This can be a value-added service you may offer to the families you serve. Also utilizing the Funeral Homes Sample E-mail or Letter for family, created by Hillary Adair, can potentially eliminate the need to make amendments. Family members can also send in amendments and supporting documents on their own via mail, to avoid going in person. - After hour support from the state.
As the largest concern for this is religious beliefs that require an immediate burial, ADHS has identified Funeral Homes and medical certifiers that work with these families on a regular basis to ensure that they are a priority for training and on-boarding. If you feel that this may be an issue for your funeral home, please reach out to ADHS to provide the Medical Certifiers you work with regularly so that they can be trained and on-boarded before October 2nd. - Lack of training.
ADHS had created a schedule of training so that it would line up with launch date of DAVE in order to keep it fresh in minds before launch of system. As we have stated above, there is an in-person training that is HIGHLY recommended for ALL Funeral Homes and Medical Certifiers to attend. This will give an in-depth review of how the system will work and will hopefully answer any further questions you may have. ADHS should have also completed meeting with every funeral home within the state to find the main point of contact and answer any questions directly. If you are unsure if your funeral home had this visit, please contact the ADHS office directly.
- Lack of overlap dates of when VSIMS ends and D.A.V.E. begins.
VSIMS will end immediately before DAVE begins. There will be messages to alert you to clear out your queue before this happens. Please register all deaths in your queue no matter what. You can include unknown information. Please do not hold the death registration until payment is made on behalf of the family. - Fetal permits for <20 weeks or <350 grams.
As far as ADHS is aware, there is absolutely no Arizona Statute that states that fetal remains are unable to be buried or cremated without a permit. They do not need to be registered, therefore do not need a permit. If a family wants to bury or cremate their baby, you are free to do so for them. ADHS is speaking with the Attorney General to make absolutely sure of this. We will update you with a formal statement from the AG as we receive it.