State, heal thy physicians: an assessment of the Louisiana Natural Death Act

In our society, state governments have the major role in regulating physician behavior and actions related to end-of-life decision making. However, in the current confusing and conflicted legal environment, how well are state governments doing with this serious responsibility? The authors of this article report the results of the first statewide survey of Louisiana physicians regarding their knowledge of and compliance with specific parts of one state government's attempt to regulate end-of-life decision making: the Louisiana Natural Death Act (LNDA). Physician respondents were asked to indicate their level of familiarity with the LNDA and several questions examined physician compliance with specific sections contained in the statute. Among many things, the survey revealed most physicians (74%) were not familiar with even the basic provisions of the LNDA, and had not received either medical school or subsequent post graduate training in this area. Based on the results of this survey, the authors offer several policy recommendations that could enhance physician knowledge and subsequent compliance with the LNDA.