[Answered]: On Thursday an 85-year-old female patient at…

On Thursday an 85-year-old female patient at Westminster Commons Senior Living Facility became agitated and physically abusive to herself and others so was place in wrist and ankle restraints. An hour later staff found the patient unconscious and called the EMT squad for assistance. The patient was taken to the medical center emergency department (ED) where she awoke and once again became physically abusive. The physician ordered the patient to be restrained to protect the patient and others while the physician examined the patient. Upon examining the patient, the physician noted that the patient had multiple bruises on her back, arms, buttocks, and thighs. In addition, the patient had a cardiac defibrillator implanted during her last inpatient visit. The hospital had received a medical device alert notice regarding the implant device and was currently notifying patients with the device to contact their physician for follow-up. The physician was aware that the patient needed to be told of the need to replace her cardiac defibrillator implant once the patient was calm and assessment could be made that the patient understood what would be needed. The patient was sedated, and the restraints removed. However, 15 hours later the patient expired. The hospital reported the death to the medical examiner/coroner office. Consider the following: Why is the hospital required to report this patient’s death to the medical examiner/coroner? Do medical examiners/coroners have the right to receive patient information needed to investigate a case?