Medical doctors are, quite rightly, more concerned with what
they can do for the living than for the dead. Public health,
however, has a keen interest in death and its causes because
knowing what people die from, particularly those who die
prematurely, enables appropriate preventive action. Medical
doctors have a crucial role to play in this. They know what
caused the death of their patients, and by accurately sharing
this knowledge on the death notification form, can assist in
preventing future deaths.