Rhode Island General Laws Title 23. Health and Safety § 23-4-8. Procedure for investigation of deaths

(a) When the office of state medical examiners has notice that there has been found, or is lying within this state, the body of a person who is supposed to have come to his or her death by violence, or in any manner as stated in § 23-4-7, an agent of the office of state medical examiners shall immediately proceed to the place where the body lies and take charge of it, view it and make personal inquiry into the cause and manner of death. If the body is found at the residence of the deceased, the agent of the office of state medical examiners shall not remove the body from the residence unless necessary for further postmortem examination or autopsy.

(b) A health care facility shall disclose any and all information in its possession requested by the state medical examiner or his or her agent in connection with the investigation of the death of a current or former patient to the extent necessary to assist the medical examiner in determining the cause of death.