eCedent Frequently Asked Questions:
Health Information Management Edition
Thank you for using eCedent, the online software that’s revolutionizing how death certificates are done! We’ve prepared a list of frequently asked questions and answers to help you get the most from eCedent. If you don’t see your question here, please scroll down for more information about how to contact our technical support team.
How do I login to eCedent?
What should I do if I forget my password?
How do I change my password or user name (email address)?
How do I start working with open (current/existing) decedent records?
How do I open an existing record?
How can I tell quickly which records have been certified (signed), or declined by a physician or funeral home?
A record that was previously in Open Records no longer appears in this list. Where can I find it?
How do I create and save a new record?
How do I add a new Facility Name so it will be available in the drop-down menu for future use?
I’ve created a new record and filled in the basic data (Demographics and Pronouncing). What happens next?
How do I add or change information about the decedent and/or the death?
How can I be sure my work is being saved?
Oops -- I made a mistake and want to clear a screen and start over. How do I do that?
How do I return to the previous screen?
How do I assign a physician or funeral home?
What happens after I assign a physician?
What if I need to reassign the case to another physician or funeral home?
What happens after I assign a Funeral Home?
How do I add a new Physician or Funeral Home name so it will be available in my shortlist drop-down menu from now on?
A physician or funeral home in my shortlist is no longer needed; how do I remove it?
What do I do if the funeral home for a case is not a participant in eCedent?
How do I print a completed death certificate for my file?
My question(s) was not addressed in this FAQ section! Where can I get help?
How do I login to eCedent?
Using your Internet browser, go to www.ecedent.com. Enter your username (your complete email address) and password on the right-hand side of the Home page, then click Sign In. Usernames and passwords are case-sensitive, which means you should enter them carefully, exactly as they were originally created (using a combination of upper- and lower-case letters if needed).
What should I do if I forget my password?
Enter your username, then select Forgot My Password (located beneath the login area), and the system will guide you through a few simple steps. You will be asked to supply an email address (your username) where you want the password sent, and to click the Submit button. eCedent will send an email to you at that address, containing your password.
How do I change my password or user name (email address)?
You can change your password and/or username anytime you like. After login, go to my account (see the link in the upper-right corner of your screen). Select Change Your Username or Change Your Password. On the next screen, you will be asked to supply your current and new information, and to confirm the changes by clicking the Submit button. If you are changing your username (email address), make sure you are using an email account that you will check frequently. The new username (email address) is where eCedent will send all its email communications to you.
How do I start working with open (current/existing) decedent records?
First, you must be logged in to create or open a record. After successful login, the system will open your Home (Your Open Records) page. Notice that your facility’s name, address, and phone number will appear in the upper right-hand area of the screen. You will see a list of all Your Open Records and a data overview of each, including name, social security number, date of death, physician status, and funeral home status. The records are listed in order by date of death, with the oldest dates first.
How do I open an existing record?
Single-left-click on a decedent’s name to select that record.
How can I tell quickly which records have been certified (signed), or declined by a physician or funeral home?
These important statuses will be shown in green (for certified/signed) and red (for declined) to make them easy to spot.
A record that was previously in Open Records no longer appears in the list. Where is it?
Once a record is signed by the physician and printed at the funeral home, eCedent automatically notifies you by email. It also MOVES the record from the Open Records list to the Completed Records list. To access these records, scroll down and choose View Completed Records at the lower left corner of your Home (Your Open Records) page. You can also access the Print feature from these records.
How do I create and save a new record?
On your Home (Your Open Records) page, click on the green Create A New Record button. You will be taken to a new record screen. The data required is divided into two headings for your convenience: Demographics and Pronouncing. Enter the decedent’s full name, his or her social security number, birthdate, and sex in the upper portion of the screen. Proceed by filling in the date of death (click on the calendar for help), time and place of death, facility name, county, and city/boro or township. Finish by clicking on the Continue button to be sure your data is saved. If you move to another screen (by using your browser’s Forward or Back buttons) before clicking on Continue, your data will be lost.
How do I add a new Facility Name so it will be available in the drop-down menu from now on?
eCedent “learns” as you work, allowing you to enter new facility names, physicians, funeral homes, etc. that you will use again, saving you time in the future. Simply click on Add Facility. You will be taken to a new screen where you will need to enter basic information about the new facility. Finish by clicking on Save Changes. The new facility will now become one of your standard choices in the drop-down menu.
I’ve created a new record and filled in the basic data (Demographics and Pronouncing). What happens next?
After filling in this data and clicking on Continue, you will be taken to that decedent’s main data screen. The person’s name will appear in large letters in upper left portion. From this screen, you can do several things: Add/Edit Information (by clicking the green button at the right), or work on assigning the Physician and/or Funeral Home. For more about these functions, see the questions and answers below.
How do I add or change information about the decedent and/or the death?
To enter or modify data, you must first put the screen in data entry mode. Simply click the green Add/Edit Information button, and you will be returned to the Edit Decedent screen, which contains the Demographics and Pronouncing data sections. Make your changes/additions, and click the green Save Information button. Be sure to save, or your new data will be lost.
How can I be sure my work is being saved?
In the Edit Decedent screen, be sure to click on the green Save Information button as you work, and/or when you’re done, or your data will be lost. Moving to another screen before clicking on Save Information will also cause your data to be lost.
Oops -- I made a mistake and want to clear a screen and start over. How do I do that?
If you make errors and want to start over with all data entry for that screen, select Cancel Edits. This will cause all the data fields to return to whatever was in them before you began editing during this session.
How do I return to the previous screen?
At any time, you can navigate to the prior screen by using the “back” button on your Internet browser. (However, if you do so before clicking on Save Information, your data will be lost.)
How do I assign a physician or funeral home?
In the decedent’s main data screen, click on Assign Physician or Assign Funeral Home to access data entry for these functions. When you enter the Assign Physician and Assign Funeral Home screens, notice that the system allows you to select either from your own personal shortlist (of names you have used in the past – see next question for more information about how to manage this list) and/or from a standardized list. For physicians, this will be a list of all eCedent members registered at your facility. For funeral homes, this will be a list of all funeral homes with eCedent membership. Choose the appropriate name from either your shortlist or the larger membership list, then click on the Assign button.
What happens after I assign a physician?
You will see a confirmation screen telling you that you have successfully assigned that decedent to the physician you chose. You will then have the option of either assigning the funeral home or returning to the record. Click on the button of your choice. If you return to the record page, you will see that the physician’s name now appears in the Record Status area. eCedent will instantly proceed with notifying the physician, via the method he or she has chosen, that this decedent’s record requires attention. When the physician has signed, you will be notified.
What if I need to reassign the case to another physician or funeral home?
After you assign a physician or funeral home and return to the decedent’s record page, you will notice that the green button in the related Record Status area says “Reassign Physician (or Funeral Home)” instead of “Assign Physician (or Funeral Home).” Just select Reassign at any time if you need to change the physician or funeral home associated with the case.
What happens after I assign a Funeral Home?
You will see a confirmation screen telling you that you have successfully assigned that decedent to the funeral home you chose. You can then click on “Take me back to the record” to return to the decedent’s main screen and look over all your work. The funeral home’s name will now appear in the Record Status area. eCedent will instantly proceed with notifying the funeral home, via the method the funeral home has chosen, that this decedent has been assigned to them.
How do I add a new Physician or Funeral Home name so it will be available in my shortlist’s drop-down menu from now on?
eCedent “learns” as you work, allowing you to enter new facility names, physicians, funeral homes, etc. that you will use again, saving you time in the future. When you enter the Assign Physician or Assign Funeral Home screen (accessed by clicking on the appropriate green button in the Record Status area), you will see two drop-down lists. The first is your own personal shortlist (of names you have added in the past). The second is a standardized list of all your facility’s registered physicians, or, for the funeral home function, a list of all funeral homes with eCedent membership. To add a name to your shortlist, using this second drop-down list, highlight the eCedent member you want, and click on Add to Shortlist (on the far right of your screen). The new name will instantly appear as one of the choices in your shortlist.
A physician or funeral home in my shortlist is no longer needed; how do I remove it?
You can easily remove a physician or funeral home from your shortlist. Using the first drop-down list (your shortlist) on the Assign Physician (or Assign Funeral Home) screen, highlight the name you want to remove. Then click on Remove from Shortlist (on the far right of your screen). The name will instantly disappear from your shortlist. However, it will remain as a choice in the second drop-down menu, which contains registered eCedent physician (or funeral home) member names.
What do I do if the funeral home for a case is not a participant in eCedent?
In cases involving a non-participating funeral home, select the green Manual Print button to print the signed death certificate yourself. The funeral home can then pick up the hard copy and fill in the remaining data by hand. Please note that if the physician has not yet signed the death certificate, you will not be able to print it.
How do I print a completed death certificate for my file?
To access completed certificates, scroll to the bottom of the Home page and choose View Completed Certificates, then single-left-click on the record you want to print. Please note that if the physician has not yet signed the death certificate, you will not be able to print it. Click on the green Print Certificate button. The death certificate will display as a PDF; choose the Print icon from the upper-left-corner of the screen, or under File, select Print. You can print a certificate as many times as you like, as often as you like. This is NOT an official copy, but is for your file only.
My question(s) was not addressed in this FAQ section! Where can I get help?
We apologize that our FAQ section did not resolve your question(s). We want to make your eCedent experience easy! Please contact one of our friendly technical support people via email at support@ecedent.com. Or call us toll-free at 1.866.472.0367. Again, we thank you for using eCedent!