Palliative Care and Physician-Assisted Death

2012 ◽  
pp. 202-212
Author(s):  
Dick Willems
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Assisted Death

Ethics and the law involving the elderly

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Dodds ◽  
Chandra M. Kumar ◽  
Frédérique Servin
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Outcome Data ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Assisted Death ◽  
The Uk

The role of ethics in the care of the elderly is discussed, and some of the aspects of importance to anaesthesia are reviewed. Ethical principles are commonly viewed as either consequential, where the risk/benefit balance between necessary harm (surgery) provides improved quality of life, or deontological, where it is simply the action that is judged and not the outcome. The lack of individualized outcome data is identified as a major issue for the consequential process. Consent for surgery (and anaesthesia) is described in the context of the UK, but it is applicable worldwide. The validity of informed consent is reviewed against the criteria of competence, lack of duress, and appropriately provided information. The capacity to give consent and the use of legal alternatives such as health attorneys is detailed. Finally, the debate on excellent palliative care rather than assisted death is reviewed.

Physician-assisted death with limited access to palliative care

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 652-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquín Barutta ◽  
Jochen Vollmann
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Assisted Death ◽  
Limited Access

scholarly journals Legalised Physician-Assisted Death in Oregon

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Ganzini
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
The United States ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Assisted Death ◽  
Lethal Dosage ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

<p><em><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">In the United States, five states have legalised physician-assisted death (PAD), but most information and research comes from the state of Oregon, in which the practice has been legal since 1997. This law allows a physician to prescribe a lethal dosage of medicine to terminally ill, mentally competent residents, for the purposes of self-administration. Each year about 3 in 1000 deaths are from PAD and the patients most often have cancer or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Concerns that legalisation would undermine the development of palliative care and be disproportionately utilised by patients unable to access good end of life care have been unfounded.  </span></span></em></p>

Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in the Netherlands and Oregon

2021 ◽  
pp. 117-126
Author(s):  
Herbert Hendin ◽  
Josephine Hendin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
The United States ◽  
Physical Illness ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Assisted Death ◽  
Reporting Practices

Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) was sanctioned in Oregon in 1977, before advances in palliative care made it possible to relieve the suffering associated with serious illnesses. Depression associated with physical illness was assumed to be an inevitable consequence of terminal illnesses. These provided the impetus for legalization in Oregon which became a model for laws, implementation, and reporting practices in the United States and other countries. Since 2002, the Netherlands have had experience with PAS, as well as euthanasia. Both environments have seen an increase in patients utilizing these practices. While there is advocacy from interest groups favouring these practices, questions are raised about the use, implementation, requirements, and reporting practices. This text explores the experience of assisted death in Oregon and the Netherlands, from medical/psychological perspectives.

Hospice Palliative Care (HPC) and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD): Results From a Canada-Wide Survey

2019 ◽  
pp. 082585971986554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Antonacci ◽  
Sharon Baxter ◽  
J. David Henderson ◽  
Raza M. Mirza ◽  
Christopher A. Klinger
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Nurse Practitioners ◽  
Scope Of Practice ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Care Organization ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Assisted Death ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
Hospice Palliative Care

Background: With the legalization of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada, physicians and nurse practitioners now have another option within their scope of practice to consider alongside hospice palliative care (HPC) to support the patient and family regardless of their choice toward natural or medically assisted death. To elucidate insights and experiences with MAiD since its inception and to help adjust to this new end-of-life care environment, the membership of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) was surveyed. Methods: The CHPCA developed and distributed a 16-item survey to its membership in June 2017, one year following the legalization of MAiD. Data were arranged in Microsoft® Excel and open-ended responses were analyzed thematically using NVivo 12 software. Results: From across Canada, 452 responses were received (response rate: 15%). The majority of individuals worked as nurses (n = 161, 33%), administrators (n = 79, 16%), volunteers (n = 76, 16%) and physicians (n = 56, 11%). Almost 75% (n = 320) of all respondents indicated that they had experienced a patient in their program who had requested MAiD. Participants expressed dissatisfaction with the current psychological and professional support being provided by their health care organization and Ministry of Health - during and after the MAiD procedure. Conclusion: The new complexities of MAiD present unique challenges to those working in the health-care field. There needs to be an increased focus on educating/training providers as without proper support, health-care workers will be unable to perform to their full potential/scope of practice while also providing patients with holistic and accessible care.

scholarly journals Physician-assisted death is not palliative care

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Herx
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Assisted Death

-

scholarly journals Survey evaluations of University of British Columbia residents’ education and attitudes regarding palliative care and physician assisted death

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e6-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Spicer ◽  
Sonia Paul ◽  
Tom Tang ◽  
Charlie Chen ◽  
Jocelyn Chase
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Assisted Death ◽  
Structured Education ◽  
University Of British Columbia ◽  
Resident Physicians ◽  
The Subject

Background: Little prior research has been conducted regarding resident physicians’ opinions on the subject of Physician Assisted Death (PAD), despite past surveys ascertaining the attitudes of practicing physicians towards PAD in Canada. We solicited British Columbia residents’ opinions on the amount of education they receive about palliative care and physician assisted death, and their attitudes towards the implementation of PAD.Methods: We conducted a cross sectional, anonymous online survey with the resident physicians of British Columbia, Canada. Questions included: close-ended questions, graded Likert scale questions, and comments. Results: Among the respondents (n=299, response rate 24%), 44% received ≥5 hours of education in palliative care, 40% received between zero and four hours of education, and 16% reported zero hours. Of all respondents, 75% had received no education about PAD and the majority agreed that there should be more education about palliative care (74%) and PAD (85%). Only 35% of residents felt their program provided them with enough education to make an informed decision about PAD, yet 59% would provide a consenting patient with PAD. Half of the respondents believed PAD would ultimately be provided by palliative care physicians.Interpretation: Residents desire further education about palliative care and PAD. Training programs should consider conducting a thorough needs assessment and implementing structured education to meet this need.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document