Should Palliative Care Teams be Involved in Medical Assisted Dying?

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_E28B3B8B8EEF
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Should Palliative Care Teams be Involved in Medical Assisted Dying?
Journal
Journal of pain and symptom management
Author(s)
Gerson S.M., Gamondi C., Wiebe E., Deliens L.
ISSN
1873-6513 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0885-3924
Publication state
Published
Issued date
08/2023
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
66
Number
2
Pages
e233-e237
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
Palliative care teams offer holistic care for patients experiencing serious illness and related suffering, nevertheless, there are times when clinicians are asked by patients for help to obtain assisted dying. Patients in a growing number of areas may be eligible to request medically administered or self-administered lethal medications to control the timing of death and palliative care practices, established to neither hasten nor postpone death, may be challenged when caring for patients asking for assisted dying. In this "Controversies in Palliative Care" article, we invite three experts to provide a synopsis of the key studies that inform their thought processes, share practical advice on their clinical approach, and highlight the opportunities for future research. These experts suggest palliative care teams should be and are involved in medical assisted dying, but how palliative care teams are involved may depend on type of assisted dying requested, team members' scope of practice, legal regulations, and institutional guidelines. Research is needed on many aspects of assisted dying and palliative care including improving evidence-based clinical guidelines, addressing the needs of families, and coping strategies for all involved. An international study comparing assisted dying practices within, and outside palliative care may inform policy helping to clarify whether the integration of palliative care in assisted dying improves end-of-life care. In addition to research, it is recommended that researchers and clinicians collaborate on the development of a clinical textbook on assisted dying and palliative care to support all palliative care team members, offering guidelines and recommendations for practice.
Keywords
Humans, Palliative Care, Suicide, Assisted, Terminal Care, Hospice Care, Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing, Assisted dying, decision-making, end of life, euthanasia, medical aid in dying, palliative care
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
24/04/2023 14:25
Last modification date
19/12/2023 8:14
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