I see, that makes sense, thanks! So, after the patient died, what is the mechanism by which the family should have been contacted? Later, if that failed and t

I see, that makes sense, thanks! So, after the patient died, what is the mechanism by which the family should have been contacted? Later, if that failed and the family came to ask the hospital, the correct answer was "they're dead", not "we can't tell you" (and especially not "they were discharged against medical advice"!). How does the hospital authenticate and authorize the inquiry party? Edit: also, is being dead PHI?