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On Election Day (Nov. 6), there will be a question on the ballot that would allow terminally-ill patients to obtain and self-administer a prescription to end their lives. If the measure, known as "Death with Dignity," is approved by voters, Massachusetts would become the third state in the nation to adopt the law. Participation in the law by health care providers would be voluntary.
While Partners HealthCare will not have a formal position on the measure, Partners is preparing for the possibility that this may become law and planning for the potential impact such a law would have on our clinical staff.
To begin this planning effort, Partners has convened a multidisciplinary taskforce comprised of representatives from hospitals across the system. Co-chairs Tejal Gandhi, MD, Partners chief quality and safety officer, and Brit Nicholson, MD, senior vice president of Medicine and MGH chief medical officer, will lead the efforts to develop a standard protocol to manage requests from terminally-ill patients. The taskforce, which includes five BWHers, will evaluate and make recommendations on the appropriate role of various disciplines including medicine, social work, psychiatry and palliative care. The goal of Partners and all of its health care providers is to deliver the highest-quality care and ensure the best quality of life possible, including at the end of life.
In the coming weeks, Partners will provide information about the outcome of the election and the implementation of new policy should the ballot question pass.