Avoid Advanced Dementia with MAID & VAD

More than 60 million individuals are living with dementia. Many of them want to avoid living into the later stages of dementia. But the most salient end-of-life option, MAID or VAD, is unavailable in most jurisdictions, even in those where MAID or VAD has been authorized and implemented.

In response, there is a worldwide push to extend MAID/VAD eligibility to persons with dementia. There are two main paths.  

1. First, these patients could qualify for MAID in earlier stages of dementia when they still have capacity. Patients have taken this path in Canada for years. 
2. Second, these patients could complete advance requests that they get MAID/VAD only in the late stages of dementia after they already lost capacity to contemporaneously consent. This approach is available in Spain, Quebec, and the Netherlands.

In the meantime, both VSED and dementia VSED advance directives remain an important backup alternative.