Death with Dignity Act changes
The Washington Legislature passed ESSB 5179 in 2023 which makes changes to the Death with Dignity Act.
Changes begin July 23, 2023.
Changes
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Allows more licensed healthcare providers to participate in the Death with Dignity Act.
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Added a definition of “qualified medical provider” that includes:
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Physician,
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Physician assistant (PA)
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Advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP)
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Added to the “counseling” definition:
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independent clinical social worker
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advanced social worker
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mental health counselor
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psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner
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Reduces the timeframe a qualified patient must wait to make a second oral request for medication to 7 days.
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Allows pharmacies to accept prescriptions electronically, dispense to a person designated by the patient, and offer secure delivery.
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Allows healthcare providers to submit Death with Dignity forms electronically to the Department of Health (DOH).
More information
The Washington state Department of Health (DOH) is updating forms, webpages, processes, and rules to implement the changes.
For information about the Death with Dignity Act and the implementation timeline:
Questions
If you have questions, or want to get email notices: