Table 4.

Characteristics of the consultation. (Questions phrased from the standard form of the reporting physician)

	n = 158 %
Number of physicians that had been consulted
One	71
Two	22
Three	7
Which physicians were consulted? In the capacity of:
SCEN-physician2	85
General practitioner	18
Medical specialist	30
Other	3
Was/were they already involved in the care for the patient?
Yes	1
One involved, the other not	18
No	80
Not clearly specified in the report	2
What was the nature of the relationship towards the reporting physician?
Unknown colleague	39
Unclear whether colleague is unknown or not	9
Known colleague 3	21
'SCEN-physician'	6
Other	10
Not clearly specified in the report	24

1. More than one physician could have been consulted.

2. SCEN = Support and Consultation for Euthanasia in the Netherlands. A 'SCEN-physician' is a physician who has received formal training in consultation and participates in a formal network of consultants.

3. Colleague own practice/partnership/other collaboration (8%). Familiar colleague not related to own practice/partnership/other collaboration (13%).