A former hospital staff member at the Launceston General Hospital was found by an independent panel to have illegally tampered with death certificates.
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The independent panel tasked with investigating 86 deaths at the LGH found that a former staff member lied about their medical attendance of 29 dead patients.
Tasmania's health department has apologised to the family and friends of individuals whose death certificates were impacted, which includes seven that should have been sent to the coroner.
All 29 deaths will now be investigated by the coroner.
An extra 28 death certificates were found to have inaccuracies that may need to be fixed.
Inaccurate reports of attending to patients in their last illness
In its report the panel said that it was a serious and sustained departure from professional medical standards and should be reported to the Medical Board of Australia for unsatisfactory professional conduct.
"A former staff member engaged in a repeated pattern of acting outside the scope of Section 35 of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Act 1999 and has repeatedly inaccurately represented their standing to certify Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs)," the panel said in its report.
"The Panel has therefore recommended that the former staff member be notified ... on the basis that there is a consistent pattern of cases in which they have certified deaths," the panel said in its report.
"Prima facie, they were not qualified to certify, and incorrectly attested as a medical practitioner who attended the patient in their last illness."
Panels recommendations will be accepted
Tasmanian Health Department secretary Dale Webster said the report will be referred to Tasmania Police, the Integrity Commission and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
"On behalf of the Department of Health, I apologise to the families and friends of those impacted," Mr Webster said.
"The Panel has also made a series of recommendations that focus on enhancement of documentation, protocols and systems that will strengthen the reporting of deaths across the Department," he said.
"The Department of Health accept the recommendations and will immediately begin the process of ensuring the relevant actions are taken, including notifying the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages of the anomalies that the panel found."
The issue was raised by LGH nurse and midwife Amanda Duncan in a parliamentary inquiry, and an investigation into the alleged cover ups was called.
An initial six deaths were recommended for review by the coroner.
A further 63 deaths were identified for review.
