Audit  Audit of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) for the period July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2023.

The purpose of our audit was to determine whether OCME did the following:

• completed 90% of autopsy reports within 90 calendar days after the date of the autopsy, in accordance with the Medical Examiners section (3.05[E][4]) of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner: Policy Manual;
• completed death certificates, in accordance with the Medical Examiners section (3.05[E][3–4]) of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner: Policy Manual, that were in effect during the audit period;
• confirmed that the legal next of kin was notified of the decedent’s death and that communication was established with investigating agencies in accordance with the Medicolegal Investigators section (3.01[B][1–2]) of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner: Policy Manual;
• ensured that it released decedents’ bodies to the people with the proper legal authority to receive them in accordance with Section 13 of Chapter 38 of the General Laws; and
• accounted for COVID-19 funds received in accordance with the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s “COVID-19 Revenue and Grants” directive that was effective April 1, 2020.

Below is a summary of our finding, the effect of that finding, and our recommendations, with links to each page listed.