Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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I will address Dr. Jeanne first. I refer to the idea that there is not any oversight or regulatory framework to oversee cases like there would be with other medical care. I am trying to find the line in his opening statement. He referred to “specific regulatory or enforcement responsibilities in the statute, other than the portion related to the reporting requirements”. Is he suggesting a good system should have that? It would then probably pick up some of the points my colleague made on unreturned medicines and so on. If there was a better system whereby physicians, chemists or families can report that particular regulations or criteria have been followed, would that be a safeguard for any system that is introduced?

On the statistics from Dr. Komrad, it is a difficult conversation to have. In Colorado last year, three patients with anorexia were prescribed lethal medications for suicide. It is a hard conversation to have because you do not want to look like you are supporting that in any shape or form, but I want to understand whether the patients received lethal medications for the reason of having anorexia or they were patients who had anorexia and were at a late stage of the dying process because of it. They are difficult questions to ask. At what point in time would a physician see it as a good thing to give this to somebody? Anorexia is already probably the number one killer of anything that is considered a psychiatric disorder. However, there is only a small proportion or percentage that would go on to need hospice care. Are there any sources for that information?

On the Maryland statistic of the doctor who gave prescriptions to 12 non-terminally ill people, is there a source for that? If there is, can Dr. Komrad send it to me? In my brief research, I could not find it. I found somebody who was struck off for giving six prescriptions to people who did not fit the criteria. Is this the same person? The research I found was from 2014. There are not any sources in respect of the doctor mentioned and I could not find any. I am wondering how that then ties in with safeguards. If we are saying that under the criteria a person has to be terminally ill and then a physician helped 12 non-terminally ill people, one would want to know what happened to that physician and how to safeguard against that in any particular case that may arise where somebody does not fit the criteria that a state puts down in regulation.