Abstract
Medical assistance in dying (maid) is a new medical service in Canada. Access to maid for patients with advanced cancer can be daunting during periods of declining health near the end of life. In this report, we describe a collaborative approach between the centralized coordination service and a regional cancer centre as an effective strategy for enabling interdisciplinary care delivery and enhancing patient-centred care at the end of the patient's cancer journey.
Highlights
Since July 2016, shortly after Bill C-14 received royal assent, access to medical assistance in dying in Alberta has been available through the Alberta Health Services MAID Coordination Service, which is divided into three geographic regions: one for the Edmonton and North zones, one for the Calgary and Central zones, and one for the South Zone of the province
The maid service requirement for patients with active cancer was unknown in January 2017
In the 12-month period, 243 inquiries from patients in Calgary, or from their families or care providers, were received by the MAID Coordination Service, of which 124 (51%) were related to a cancer diagnosis. Of those 124 inquiring patients, 94 remained in the contemplation phase or proceeded to the determination phase. Of those 94 included in the present analysis, 87 (93%) had died by the time the analysis was performed
Summary
Since July 2016, shortly after Bill C-14 received royal assent, access to medical assistance in dying (maid) in Alberta has been available through the Alberta Health Services (ahs) MAID Coordination Service (https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/page13497.aspx), which is divided into three geographic regions: one for the Edmonton and North zones, one for the Calgary and Central zones, and one for the South Zone of the province. Each of the three maid coordination teams comprises 1 or 2 navigators and a designated medical lead who engage the requesting patient or family and facilitate determination of maid eligibility where appropriate. Patients and families can make direct contact with the coordination team using Alberta’s Health Link (the provincial 24/7 telephone health advice service) or e-mail. Html)], the maid coordination team will identify and contact 2 physicians or nurse practitioners to perform independent eligibility assessments, as required by law. At least 1 of the 2 should be willing to administer maid (called “provision”) for the patient
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