The study and analysis of patients seeking medical aid in dying (MAID) seem to be similar in both Oregon and Washington, according to a studies published in JAMA Network Open and the Chronicles Medical Library

Medical Aid in Dying is most common in these states in the USA since it has been legalized . Other countries such as Australia , Belgium , Thailand , Mexico already practice Voluntary Euthanasia be it with the assistance of a Medical Physician or self administration of the Lethal medication

In a group of 3,368 prescriptions from 1998 to 2017 in Oregon and 2009 to 2017 in Washington, most patients in both states were insured, non-Hispanic white, and had some level of college education, the study showed. The most common diagnosis associated with medical Aid in Dying (MAID) was cancer.

“Concerns that Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) would unintentionally target socially disadvantaged patients have not materialized, as evidenced by the data presented in this article,” wrote Luai Al Rabadi, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, and colleagues. “States considering MAID legalization may see similar results if they model their rules on those put into place in the US Pacific Northwest.”

Belgian doctor Marc Van Hoey, a general practitioner who is president of the Right to Die Association in the region of Flanders, Belgium. Photo / AP

On June 22 Van Hoey was filmed by an Australian documentary crew administering the barbiturate to De Moor, who died just five minutes later. Van Hoey said in the documentary that he was assisting De Moor as she was suffering from “reactive depression”. This also could be considered as medical aid in Dying

Of the prescriptions given, 2,558 (76%) resulted in patient death from lethal ingestion. A little more than half of prescriptions were given to men (51.3%) and the majority were in patients older than age 65 years (76%) and white (94.8%).

Cancer was the most common underlying diagnoses associated with MAID (76.4%) followed by neurologic illness (10.2%), lung disease (5.6%) and heart disease (4.6%). Among the reasons given for MAID, loss of autonomy was the most common (87.4%). Only 4% of patients received referrals for psychiatric examinations.