Last week, I offered some of the basic “need to know” points about Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms. This week, I’d like to share a brief listing of who should be filling out POLST forms.
- The form does require a physician signature (currently Illinois law does not allow mid-level providers to sign this document).
- Like the Illinois DNR form, a witness is required to sign the POLST form.
- The patient is also required to sign the form if she/he is able to do so, or the her/his legal representative may sign if the patient is not able.
- The POLST is much more than a DNR form. It specifies orders that can either be “do” or “do not” for CPR, and it also specifies the level of other medical intervention in a pre-arrest emergency, and expresses preferences for artificial nutrition and hydration, depending on circumstances.
- The form is meant to be primarily used for those near the end of their lives, with a prognosis of a year or less, but this is not a hard and fast rule.
- The Illinois Department of Public Health is reviewing a proposed document, and once they approve one, specific educational tools will become available for health care professionals.
We expect the POLST to be effective in Illinois very soon and it is being piloted in some communities in Michigan. For more information about POLST nationally, please visit www.polst.org.
Last Updated: August 16, 2019