[The Bremen mortality index].

The Bremen Mortality Index (BreMI) is an electronic data file providing all information found on death certificates of former Bremen citizens who have died after December 31, 1997. BreMI follows the example of the National Death Index (NDI) in the USA, which has provided information on the vital status of US citizens and cause of death since 1979. The Bremen Mortality Index has been linked successfully to the Bremen Cancer Registry and has improved the efficiency of following up cancer patients. A substantial number of death certificates may be checked automatically for the presence of a cancer diagnosis or any other diagnosis. The Bremen Mortality Index may be used as a primary source for data on particular causes of death. It will be used for developing a German thesaurus for automated coding of medical entities and for determining causes of death.