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Abstract

Physician-Assisted Suicide is a controversial topic in the medical and oncological field with very few countries decriminalizing this aspect of medical care. The physician-assisted dying law, also known in California as the End of Life Option Act, took effect on June 9, 2016, making the State of California the 5th in the United States of America to participate in it. The End of Life Option Act ( EOLOA ) requires strict eligibility criteria that patients must meet, in addition to stringent evaluation guidelines physicians must follow. The city of Hope is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center and an innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution. We are guided by compassionate patient-centered philosophy, supported by a national foundation of humanitarian philanthropy, and we sustain a long history of commitment to physician education. The decision for City of Hope to participate in EOLOA followed shortly after its introduction in the State of California after consulting the whole medical staff about this decision. Subsequently, a Sub-Committee was created and tasked with developing a policy for the City of Hope to ensure implementation of EOLOA. Several patients went through the process of obtaining the aid in dying drugs (AIDD) since the EOLOA policy was implemented in our institution. The presentation 鈥淓nd of Life Option Act: Where are we today?鈥� will outline the general state and institutional requirements for EOLOA followed by a few case presentations.

Biography

Sorin Buga MD is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Supportive Care Medicine at City of Hope, Duarte, California. He is board certified in internal medicine and hospice and palliative medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians and of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He completed his fellowship in palliative medicine at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. He is the City of Hope’s representative on the NCCN Adult Cancer Pain Panel and an active member of the American Academy of Integrative Pain Management, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care and International Association for the Study of Pain. He has published in the peer review literature and is often invited to speak at scientific meetings.

E-mail: sbuga@coh.org