Martin Memorial Begins Using Electronic Birth Registration System

Registering newborn babies with county health departments has become faster and more efficient at Martin Memorial Medical Center thanks to the Internet.

On Dec. 28, 2009 Martin Memorial’s birth registry department began utilizing an electronic birth registration system provided by the state of Florida. The system allows the hospital’s birth registrar to electronically enter information, register a child’s birth with the state, and capture and store necessary signatures. The system does away with the hospital’s need to send original hard copy birth certificates to local county health departments.

The electronic birth registration system makes the process more efficient, reduces the use of paper and improves customer service by eliminating parents’ two-week wait to receive their children’s birth certificate. New parents may be able to pick up the birth certificate at the health department on their way home from the mother’s hospital stay.

The hospital’s birth registrar logs onto the Internet and accesses the database for the Florida State Department of Vital Statistics. The information is entered and a draft version of the birth certificate is printed and provided to the parents, who then review the information to ensure its accuracy. If there are changes, the registrar makes them at that time.

Once the information is approved, the parents use an electronic signature pad stating everything is correct and the registrar also signs off on the document. Then the registrar sends it to the database through a secure connection.

Each birth certificate has its own tracking number, and every week the hospital reviews birth records and compares it to the state database to ensure there are no errors.