The number of prescriptions written for people wanting help to die has increased every year since Oregon started its program 18 years ago.
Dr. Charles Blanke, a professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, reviewed data on the program in this month's Journal of the American Medical Association.
In the program's first year, he found 24 people were prescribed the lethal medication. In 2015 it was 218.
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Recipients averaged 71 years of age, and they said they took the medication because of a loss of dignity and they felt daily living was no longer enjoyable.
Blanke also said a small number of doctors account for a large number of the prescriptions.
“This process requires two different doctors to certify the patient has less than six months to live if they don’t take their medicines," Blanke said. "Believe it or not, sometimes finding that second physician is still difficult."
The vast majority of recipients took the medicine at home. It took an average five minutes to slip into a coma, and most died within 25 minutes.
But in 3 percent of cases there were complications. One person took more than four days to die, according to Blanke.
