A Conversation with Kathy Ryan, Esquire
Executive Director for PFDA

Passare’s Pennsylvania Electronic Death Registration System integration allows PA users the ability to send death certificate information from Passare to PA’s EDRS with a few clicks. However, this one-of-a-kind, award-nominated integration didn’t happen overnight. The work of Passare, the PA Department of Health, and the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association made this integration a possibility. Here’s how.

Kathy, can you talk a little about the relationship between PFDA and Passare?

We have a great relationship with Passare, who has been a preferred provider of ours since 2018. Our PFDA members who use Passare love it, so we are always happy to suggest Passare as a software solution for funeral homes. 

Can you describe how PFDA helped Passare keep the conversations going with the Department of Health (DOH) to make this PA EDRS integration a reality?

Both James Eirkson, Assistant Executive Director/COO for the PFDA, and I have fairly regular communication with the people at the death registry. As the three entities were working together (PFDA, DOH, and Passare), PFDA would ask about the status to make sure the conversation kept going and progress was being made, even after periods of time. We advocated for Passare and the integration, and the state was open to it. We really want to give credit to the state for being open to an integration like this and credit to Passare for making it happen!

How would you say that the PA EDRS integration has benefitted the members of PFDA?

Well, it’s easier to enter and submit death certificate information! Even better that it’s all done in one place — Passare.

How is this integration beneficial to the state?

At the Federal level, DOHs have to report the death, and the EDRS makes it easier to report electronically rather than with handwritten death certificates. As a result, state health departments want people to use their electronic system for better reporting. The easier it is for funeral professionals to submit death certificates online, the more people will use it. This integration does just that. And, since families can get involved from the beginning through Passare’s Planning Center, families can input a lot of information into Passare themselves, so there is a significant decrease in the chance for errors.

Anything else you want to add?

I’m on the Advisory Board for Northampton Community College, and one concern we had for our students was that they wouldn’t know how to work with the PA EDRS when they graduated. Passare was generous enough to donate their software to help students become familiar with case management. If students are already familiar with Passare when they graduate, it makes it that much easier for them to use the PA EDRS. We appreciate the effort and investment in tomorrow’s funeral professionals! All in all, Passare is a state-of-the-art technology solution that offers consumers and funeral directors an opportunity to interact throughout the funeral planning process and beyond. We look forward to continuing to educate our members about Passare and its features!

Want to learn more about the PFDA? Visit https://www.pfda.org/