Vermont, the only aid-in-dying state that specifically prohibited telemedicine for aid-in-dying evaluations and care, has passed a bill that will now allow this. Of note is that discussion of the bill referred to the Academy’s “Telemedicine Policy Recommendations”, formulated by a committee that evaluated the practice: Carol Parrot, MD; Jessica Safra, MD; Diana Barnard, MD; Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, Ph.D.; Lonny Shavelson, MD.
Senate bill 74, passed by the state House and Senate after an almost two-year process and signed by Gov. Phil Scott on April 27, amends the state’s medical aid in dying law, which was passed in 2013, allows a patient who meets specific criteria to request a prescription to aid in dying through telemedicine, eliminating the need for two in-person consults and a 48-hour waiting period. The bill also establishes legal immunity for licensed healthcare providers, including pharmacists.
Read more
- Vermont Amends Assisted Suicide Law to Include Telemedicine | HealthLeaders Media
- Telemedicine Policy Recommendations – American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying (acamaid.org)
- Scott signs bill to allow telemedicine in medical aid in dying – VTDigger
- Vermont considers changes to its aid-in-dying law – The World Federation of Right to Die Societies (wfrtds.org)
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