2 ms·

A more important point is that even in a more normal palliative care situation, which previously may have involved a borderline illegal increase of drugs near t

A more important point is that even in a more normal palliative care situation, which previously may have involved a borderline illegal increase of drugs near the end to hasten and ease death, might now be recorded as an assisted death instead. So a more interesting stat might be the expected quality of life adjusted years that have been cut off by the assisted deaths. I'm not sure if QUALY can go negative but some measure that can might be appropriate when talking about assisted death.

gnfargbl 2y ago
Negative QALY values do appear possible, according to https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1098301510600460 https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S10983015106004... (via Wikipedia).
- eru 2y ago
  I'm not sure a link will contribute much? It's just the basic question whether some years (or days or whatever) are so awful that you are better off being dead. In any case, the linked article says 'States worse than dead can exist and they would have a negative value and subtract from the number of QALYs.'
  - gnfargbl 2y ago
    Yes, it's a fairly obvious point. The link was in the context of whether negative QALYs are a concept used by the medical profession.
x0x0 2y ago
Anyone who's been close to a dying cancer patient knows what the last couple months are like for many: unending suffering plus tomorrow will be worse. Many people would choose not to suffer like that and I can't understand who anyone else is to tell them they must endure utter misery for nothing.
LorenPechtel 2y ago
Whether the official measure can go negative or not on a practical level it clearly can. I saw my father near the end--the morphine robbed him of the ability to make long term memory. From when he was on that dose it was short term memory only, his world was frozen to before that point. And he was still in pain. How can that be anything but a negative quality of life?

gnfargbl 2y ago

Negative QALY values do appear possible, according to https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1098301510600460 https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S10983015106004... (via Wikipedia).

eru 2y ago
I'm not sure a link will contribute much? It's just the basic question whether some years (or days or whatever) are so awful that you are better off being dead. In any case, the linked article says 'States worse than dead can exist and they would have a negative value and subtract from the number of QALYs.'
- gnfargbl 2y ago
  Yes, it's a fairly obvious point. The link was in the context of whether negative QALYs are a concept used by the medical profession.

x0x0 2y ago

Anyone who's been close to a dying cancer patient knows what the last couple months are like for many: unending suffering plus tomorrow will be worse. Many people would choose not to suffer like that and I can't understand who anyone else is to tell them they must endure utter misery for nothing.

LorenPechtel 2y ago

Whether the official measure can go negative or not on a practical level it clearly can. I saw my father near the end--the morphine robbed him of the ability to make long term memory. From when he was on that dose it was short term memory only, his world was frozen to before that point. And he was still in pain. How can that be anything but a negative quality of life?