Telephone consultations on palliative sedation therapy and euthanasia in general practice in The Netherlands in 2003: a report from inside

Background. GPs with a special interest and with specific training in palliative medicine (GP advisors) supported professional carers (mostly GPs) through a telephone advisory service. Each telephone call was formally documented on paper and subsequently evaluated. Objective. Data from 2003 were analysed independently to reveal how often and in what way palliative sedation and euthanasia were discussed. Methods. The telephone documentation forms and corresponding evaluation forms of two GP advisors were systematically analysed for problems relating to the role of sedation and/or euthanasia bot... Mehr ...