How well do we communicate autopsy findings to next of kin?

Context: A failure of communication among families, physicians, and pathologists is recognized as a major cause of declining autopsy rates and may be involved in increased litigation.

Objective: To determine how effectively autopsy results are communicated to the next of kin and how satisfied families are with the process from consent to relaying of the results.

Design: A retrospective telephone survey of next of kin of 106 consecutive patients autopsied at a major teaching hospital.