Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)

Indications

• end-of-life planning
• to honor the patient's wishes across different settings

Procedure

• for use by health care providers
• standardized, single page form
• documents a conversation between a doctor & a seriously ill patient or their surrogate decision-maker
• it is a medical order, signed by a doctor &, depending upon the state, the patient
• a POLST form is designed to be actionable throughout an entire community
  • it is immediately recognizable
  • can be used by doctors & first responders (paramedics, fire departments, police, emergency rooms, hospitals, nursing homes)

Notes

• began in Oregon in 1991
• currently promoted in > 26 states through national & statewide initiatives (2014)

More general terms

• documentation of advance directives

Additional terms

• advance directives