Finding a Doctor - For Non-Residents
If you have read the Non-Resident page of the Patient Choices Vermont Website, you now know that establishing a relationship with a Vermont doctor is an important early step in the process of accessing medical aid in dying. You probably also have read that Patient Choices Vermont does not maintain a list doctors or make patient referrals.
The purpose of this page is to give you and your doctor in your home state guidance on how to proceed.
Background – Limited Availability of Doctors:
It has only been since May 2023 that aid in dying has been available in Vermont to non-residents. Vermont medical providers are doing the best they can to serve the very high demand we are experiencing, but we are a small state with very few doctors to begin with and most are already overbooked with their own patients. That said, some doctors are making room for a few out-of-state patients.
The first thing to know is that medical aid in dying is not a medical specialty. Any Vermont-licensed MD can prescribe. Most of the doctors with experience are either oncologists, neurologists, primary care, or palliative care doctors. Most who are taking out-of-state patients are prioritizing those who are referred by the patient's own doctor. You can encourage your own doctor to treat this like any other referral, where often they have to do some research to determine who to refer to. Most Vermont doctors are also prioritizing patients who are already within the 6-month terminal diagnosis time frame.
If your doctor is unwilling to do the research and refer, you can call the various medical centers yourself. Understand that if you can get an appointment, the Vermont doctor will still want a report from your own doctor, including life expectancy and all relevant medical records. Remember that all steps in the process will need to be taken physically in Vermont. That means that people seeking aid in dying have to be very resourceful and have sufficient support to be able to navigate all the details.
In the meantime, make sure that you have comprehensive information about your options at home, including having a palliative care doctor on your team and hospice. Many patients who have considered coming to Vermont over the past few months ultimately decided that having their support systems at home would be better for them than spending their last months arranging all the logistics to come to Vermont, with the uncertainty about whether it would work out.
The purpose of this page is to give you and your doctor in your home state guidance on how to proceed.
Background – Limited Availability of Doctors:
It has only been since May 2023 that aid in dying has been available in Vermont to non-residents. Vermont medical providers are doing the best they can to serve the very high demand we are experiencing, but we are a small state with very few doctors to begin with and most are already overbooked with their own patients. That said, some doctors are making room for a few out-of-state patients.
The first thing to know is that medical aid in dying is not a medical specialty. Any Vermont-licensed MD can prescribe. Most of the doctors with experience are either oncologists, neurologists, primary care, or palliative care doctors. Most who are taking out-of-state patients are prioritizing those who are referred by the patient's own doctor. You can encourage your own doctor to treat this like any other referral, where often they have to do some research to determine who to refer to. Most Vermont doctors are also prioritizing patients who are already within the 6-month terminal diagnosis time frame.
If your doctor is unwilling to do the research and refer, you can call the various medical centers yourself. Understand that if you can get an appointment, the Vermont doctor will still want a report from your own doctor, including life expectancy and all relevant medical records. Remember that all steps in the process will need to be taken physically in Vermont. That means that people seeking aid in dying have to be very resourceful and have sufficient support to be able to navigate all the details.
In the meantime, make sure that you have comprehensive information about your options at home, including having a palliative care doctor on your team and hospice. Many patients who have considered coming to Vermont over the past few months ultimately decided that having their support systems at home would be better for them than spending their last months arranging all the logistics to come to Vermont, with the uncertainty about whether it would work out.