Assessing and managing patients with borderline personality disorder requesting medical assistance in dying

Abstract

BackgroundWhen physician assisted dying (referred to as Medical Assistance in Dying or MAiD in this article) is available for individuals with mental disorders as the sole underlying medical condition (MD-SUMC), patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently request MAiD. Psychiatrists and other clinicians must be prepared to evaluate and manage these requests.ObjectivesThe purposes of this paper are to define when patients with BPD should be considered to have an irremediable, treatment resistant disorder and provide clinicians with an approach to assess and manage their patients with BPD making requests for MAiD.MethodsThis perspective paper developed the authors’ viewpoint by using a published, authoritative definition of irremediability and including noteworthy systematic and/or meta-analytic reviews related to the assessment of irremediability.ResultsThe clinician must be aware of the eligibility requirements for granting MAiD in their jurisdiction so that they can appropriately prepare themselves and their patients for the assessment process. The appraisal of the intolerability of the specific person’s suffering comes from having an extensive dialogue with the patient; however, the assessment of whether the patient has irremediable BPD should be more objectively and reliably determined. A systematic approach to the assessment of irremediability of BPD is reviewed in the context of the disorder’s severity, treatment resistance and irreversibility.ConclusionIn addition to characterizing irremediability, this paper also addresses the evaluation and management of suicide risk for patients with BPD undergoing the MAiD assessment process.