PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
In the United States, medical examiners and coroners (MECs) fill critical roles within our public health and public safety systems. These professionals are primarily charged with determining the cause and manner of death as they investigate deaths and respond to associated scenes and mass fatalities and can also help identify trends in public health crises through medicolegal death investigations. Despite their instrumental role, they are organized in disparate systems with varying governing structures, functions, staffing, caseload, budget, and access to resources. This paper examines data from the 2018 Census of Medical Examiner and Coroners to evaluate MEC operations in the United States. The findings show that MEC offices\' organizational and operational governance structures greatly influence resources, workloads, and access to information and services. Standalone MEC offices were generally better resourced than those affiliated with law enforcement, public health, forensic science, district attorneys, or other agencies.1.
摘要：
在美国,体检医师和验尸官（MEC）在我们的公共卫生和公共安全系统中扮演着重要角色。这些专业人员主要负责确定死亡原因和死亡方式，因为他们调查死亡并应对相关场景和大规模死亡，还可以通过法医学死亡调查帮助确定公共卫生危机的趋势。尽管他们发挥了重要作用，它们被组织在不同的系统中，具有不同的治理结构，功能,人员配备，案件量,预算,和获取资源。本文研究了2018年体检医师和验尸官人口普查的数据，以评估美国MEC的运营情况。调查结果表明，MEC办事处的组织和运营治理结构极大地影响了资源，工作负载,以及获取信息和服务。独立的MEC办公室通常比与执法部门有联系的办公室资源更好，公共卫生,法医学,地方检察官,或其他机构1.
