Medical Assistance in Dying

Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) is committed to ensuring that our patients have access to all aspects of end-of-life care, including medical assistance in dying.  At MAHC, patients will receive high-quality palliative and supportive care throughout the process of requesting medical assistance in dying or any approach to end-of-life care.  End-of-life care planning is very personal, and is designed to ensure that you and your family are treated with dignity, and respects your personal values and beliefs.

Medical assistance in dying is a term used to refer to patients seeking and obtaining the assistance of a doctor to end his/her life.  At MAHC, a doctor can administer medications to the patient that ends the patient's life.  This is also known as voluntary euthanasia.

Medical assistance in dying can occur in a location at home, at the cottage, at a long-term care home, or in the hospital.  A policy has been developed to guide MAHC in supporting patients who request a medically-assisted death. More information is available in our brochure.

Eligibility

You may qualify for medical assistance in dying if you meet all of the following criteria:

• Eligible for health services funded by a government of Canada
• At least 18 years of age
• Capable of making decisions about your health care
• Suffer from a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability
• Give informed consent in writing
• Be in a state in which "natural death" has become reasonably foreseeable, taking into account all of your medical circumstances without a prognosis necessarily having been made as to the specific length of time that you have remaining

For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health webpage.  General inquiries about medical assistance in dying can be directed to endoflifedecisions@ontario.ca.