In an age of “alternative facts”, it’s hard to sort out myth from reality when it comes to so-called ‘medical-aid-in-dying’ (MAID)—also called physician assisted suicide (PAS). By whatever label we attach to it, this practice involves a physician’s prescribing a lethal drug for a patient...
End of life care can be a difficult topic, but there are some things you should know to make the process easier. There are a lot of misconceptions about hospice care. First Choice Home Health Services says its goal is to improve the quality of life, not...
A new report shows about half of seriously ill Californians have access to palliative care. The number is an improvement over 4 years ago, but some doctors say the state could still do a better job of caring for these patients. Read more at Southern California...
Looking at the picture of Noel Conway wearing a breathing mask like mine in today’s Guardian article “Terminally ill Noel Conway loses challenge to assisted dying ban“, I can’t help but feel a profound sense of relief. I acknowledge that acquiring a progressive neuromuscular disability later...
Suicide rates rose in all but one state between 1999 and 2016, with increases seen across age, gender, race and ethnicity, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In more than half of all deaths in 27 states, the people...
It’s a little-known and rarely discussed fact of medical practice that doctors value the ability to love our patients. If the thought of doctors loving patients makes you queasy, be reassured. I’m not talking about romantic love but the visceral sense of goodwill and impulse...
When my mother was in her final months, suffering from a heart failure and other problems, she called me to her bedside with a pained expression. She took my hand and asked plaintively, “How do I get out of this mess?” As a physician, I dreaded...
For decades, we’ve known that suicide is contagious and that how we talk about it matters. Now, we’re at least starting to see how crucial it is to honor the lives of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain without perseverating ghoulishly on how they died. Though it’s no easy thing, we’ve got to find a way to destigmatize without normalizing and to eulogize without...
California residents can still seek lethal medication as state courts consider a ruling that would overturn its 2015 assisted suicide law. The state Fourth District Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay on a lower court ruling that would have suspended assisted-suicide prescriptions in the state. "The...
As of Friday, it is again legal in California for doctors to help their terminally ill patients to die. The controversial 2015 legalization of medical aid in dying was in effect for almost two years before it was ruled unconstitutional on May 25 by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia....