Hospice-assisted death? A study of Oregon hospices on death with dignity.

Nearly 90% of terminally ill patients who have used Oregon's distinctive death with dignity law to receive a medication to end their lives are enrolled in hospice care programs. In 2009-2010, we conducted a study of the policies developed by Oregon hospices to address patient inquiries and requests for death with dignity. The study examined the stated hospice values and positions and identified the boundaries to participation drawn by the hospice programs to protect personal and programmatic integrity.

Hospice and physician-assisted death: collaboration, compliance, and complicity.

Although the overwhelming majority of terminally ill patients in Oregon who seek a physician's aid in dying are enrolled in hospice programs, hospices do not take a major role in this practice. An examination of fifty-five Oregon hospices reveals that both legal and moral questions prevent hospices from collaborating fully with physician-assisted death.