The state has ordered a review of Elvis Presley's medical records that could establish whether drugs played a role in his death, as some suspect.
Presley's death certificate lists the cause of death as heart disease, but there has long been speculation that abuse of prescription drugs hastened his death at age 42.The Shelby County Commission requested the review. Diane Denton, a spokeswoman for the state Health Department, said Thursday she hoped the review by an out-of-state doctor would be finished in a few months.
Vasco Smith, a member of the Shelby County Commission, said the primary purpose of the review is to examine the practices of the city medical examiner, Jerry Francisco.
If misinformation was knowingly including on Presley's death certificate, other decisions by Francisco could be reviewed, Smith said.
"This case was chosen because it seem to be such a blatant violation of many of the principles involved in doing an autopsy," he said.
Francisco has long maintained that his ruling in Presley's death was accurate. Presley died in 1977 at Graceland, his Memphis home.