Health department releases first medical aid-in-dying report

    Data compiled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment show that 69 terminally ill Coloradans received a physician’s prescription in 2017 to obtain aid-in-dying medication to voluntarily end their lives. Aid-in-dying medication was dispensed by Colorado pharmacies to 50 patients.
    These data do not show whether individuals ingested the aid-in-dying medication dispensed by the pharmacy; however, among all those prescribed the medication, the department has received death certificates for 56 patients through routine vital records registration.
    Note that not all of these deceased patients were dispensed aid-in-dying medication, and deaths may have been due to ingestion of aid-in-dying medication, the underlying terminal illness or condition, or other causes.
    The Colorado End-of-Life Options Act passed in 2016 requires the department to collect data from physicians who prescribe aid-in-dying medication and from pharmacists who dispense this medication. These data are presented in Colorado’s first annual statistical report describing Colorado’s participation in medical aid-in-dying.

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