Physician-assisted death: attitudes and practices of community pharmacists in East Flanders, Belgium.
This study investigates attitudes and practices of community pharmacists with respect to physician-assisted death. Between 15 February and 15 April 2002, we sent anonymous mail questionnaires to 660 community pharmacists in the eastern province of Flanders, Belgium. The response rate was 54% (n = 359). Most of the pharmacists who responded felt that patients have the right to end their own life (73%), and that under certain conditions physicians may assist the patient in dying (euthanasia: 84%; physician-assisted suicide: 61%). Under the prevailing restrictive legislation, a quarter of the pharmacists were willing to dispense lethal drugs for euthanasia versus 86% if it were legalized, but only after being well informed by the physician. The respondents-favour guidelines for pharmacists drafted by their own professional organizations (95%), and enforced by legislation (90%) to ensure careful end-of-life practice. Over the last two years, 7.3% of the responding pharmacists have received a medical prescription for lethal drugs and 6.4% have actually dispensed them. So we can conclude that community pharmacists in East Flanders were not adverse to physician-assisted death, but their cooperation in dispensing lethal drugs was conditional on clinical information about the specific case and on protection by laws and professional guidelines.
Bilsen
Johan
J
Department of Medical Sociology and Health Sciences, End-of-life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, B-1090 Brussels, Belgium. johan.bilsen@vub.ac.be
Bauwens
Marc
M
Bernheim
Jan
J
Stichele
Robert Vander
RV
Deliens
Luc
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001530:Belgium; D004989:Ethics; D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary / Q000941:ethics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D024382:Professional Role; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires