Medical assistance in dying when natural death is not reasonably foreseeable: Survey of providers' experiences with patients making track 2 requests

CONCLUSION: Providers of MAID described many challenges in their experiences with patients making track 2 requests, including assessing individuals with concurrent mental illnesses, being uncertain that patients had been offered appropriate treatments prior to seeking MAID, and being unsure whether patients had seriously considered available treatments. Many providers experienced moral distress in attempting to balance patients' rights with what might be in patients' best interests. This is different from experiences providers have had with patients making track 1 requests, as most of these patients have end-stage malignancy or organ failure and seldom have unmet health care needs. This information could be used to enhance education and support for clinicians as they help patients with track 2 requests access their right to peaceful deaths.PMID:38092447 | DOI:10.46747/cfp.6912853
Source: Canadian Family Physician Medecin de Famille Canadien - Category: Primary Care Authors: Source Type: research