British community pharmacists' views of physician-assisted suicide (PAS)

Objectives-To explore British community pharmacists' views on PAS, includin g professional responsibility personal beliefs, changes in law and ethical guidance. Design-Postal questionnaire Setting-Great Britain Subjects-A random sample of 320 registered full-time community pharmacists Results-The survey yielded a response rate of 56%. The results showed that 70% of pharmacists agreed that it was a patient's right to choose to die, w ith 57% and 45% agreeing that it was the patient's right to involve his/her doctor in the process and to use prescription medicines, respectively. For ty-nine per cent said that they would knowingly dispense a prescription for use in PAS were it to be legalised and 54% believed it correct to refuse t o dispense such a prescription. Although 53% believed it to be their right to know when they were being involved in PAS, 28% did not. Most pharmacists (90%) said that they would wish to see the inclusion of a practice protoco l for PAS in the code of ethics of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Grea t Britain (CE-RPSGB) in the event of a change in the law on PAS. In additio n, 89% would wish to see PAS included in the Conscience Clause of the CE-RP SGB. Males were found to be significantly less likely to favour PAS than fe males (p < 0.05), as were those declaring an ethnic/religious background of consideration when dealing with ethical issues in practice compared with t heir counterparts (p < 0.00005). Conclusion-Pharmacists view their professional responsibility in PAS to be more obligatory than a physician's, in having to provide the means for PAS. It is worrying that a proportion of the respondents prefer to remain in ig norance of the true purpose of a prescription for PAS; a finding at odds wi th current developments within the pharmaceutical profession. A practice pr otocol for PAS and an extension of the conscience clause should be consider ed in the event of PAS becoming legal. Such measures would allow the effici ent provision of the pharmaceutical service whilst at the same respecting t he personal beliefs of those who object to cooperating ill the ending of a life.