The certifier completing the certificate of death falls into one of three broad categories as outlined in Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 46, Section 9. Click this link to view the statute online: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter46/Section9.
1. Physician attending the decedent during his last illness (or nurse practitioner within their scope of practice). For the purposes of the death certificate, the "attending physician" is a provider in charge of a patient's care (or covering provider). A decedent may, in fact, have several physicians in this category. For example, if an individual hospitalized for cardiac surgery dies while in the hospital, the cardiac surgeon, physicians on the patient's hospital medical team, the referring cardiologist or his primary care physician may all have been in charge of the patient's care during his/her last illness and any would be acceptable certifiers as they should have sufficient information regarding the patient's history to accurately complete the cause of death information.
2. Physician declaring an individual dead or a hospital medical officer. In cases where the certifying physician is not the "attending" physician, the name of the physician in charge of patient's care is also listed on the death certificate. This provides a relatively easy mechanism for later amendment of the certificate with more complete information if necessary.
3. Medical examiners. For cases where the medical examiner's office takes jurisdiction, the resulting death certificate is always certified by a medical examiner.