PORTLAND — Oregonians who would rather die at home than in a hospital can use the state’s end-of-life planning program to put their wishes on record.
A study of 58,000 people who died of natural causes in the state in 2010 and 2011 found that 18,000 had filled out a form called the Physican Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment.
The Oregonian reports 94 percent who limited care to “comfort measures only” died at home.
Of those who selected limited medical interventions, 78 percent died at home.
Of those who selected full medical treatment, 56 percent died at home.
The study was conducted by Oregon Health & Science University Hospital Dr. Erik Fromme and was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
