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August 27-28, 2018 | Boston, USA
4th International Conference on
Palliative Care, Medicine and Hospice Nursing
Journal of Palliative Care & Medicine | ISSN: 2165-7386 | Volume 8
Sorin Buga
City of Hope, USA
End of life option act: Where are we today ?
Physician-Assisted Suicide is a controversial topic in themedical and oncological fieldwith 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 “End of Life Option Act: Where are we today?” 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.
Sorin Buga, J Palliat Care Med 2018, Volume 8
DOI: 10.4172/2165-7386-C3-019