What is a POLST and Do I Need One?

In every estate plan we prepare in our office, we include an Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD) and a form that authorizes disclosure of medical information to designated individuals you have appointed to positions in your estate plan.  This latter form is done to comply with the so-called HIPAA law.

An advance health care directive is a legal document you use to provide guidance about what types of treatments you may want to receive in case of a future, unknown medical emergency. It also is where you appoint someone to speak for you to make medical treatment decisions when you cannot speak for yourself (called an “agent”). We believe all adults should have an advance directive.

We get inquiries from clients about another health care related document commonly known as a POLST form? It is an abbreviation of the term Physicians Order for Life Sustaining Treatment. For a sample, go to https://capolst.org/.  Unlike an AHCD, a POLST form is a medical order for the specific medical treatments you want during a medical emergency. They are appropriate for individuals with a serious illness or advanced frailty near the end-of-life. It is the modern day replacement of the older DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order.

Does every adult need an Advance Health Care Directive? Absolutely. In the event of a medical emergency or other situation where you can no longer make competent medical decisions, the Directive will help avoid the costly and time consuming conservatorship proceeding.

Does every adult need a POLST form? No. Consider creating a POLST if and when you are diagnosed with a serious illness or frailty, a POLST form is NOT a substitute for an Advance Health Care Directive.

A POLST form does not replace an advance directive — they work together. While all adults should have an advance directive, not all should have a POLST form.

Both provide information about treatment wishes but they give different information:

The information in both of these documents needs to be discussed with your health care professional and your loved ones.

1. Advance Directive: This is called different things in different states (e.g., living will, health care power of attorney) but, regardless of the term, this describes a legal document you use to provide guidance about what types of treatments you may want to receive in case of a future, unknown medical emergency. It also is where you say who can speak for you to make medical treatment decisions when you cannot speak for yourself (called a “surrogate”). All adults should have an advance directive.
2. POLST Form: This is called different things in different states (e.g., MOLST, MOST, POST) but, regardless of the term, a POLST form is a medical order for the specific medical treatments you want during a medical emergency. POLST forms are appropriate for individuals with a serious illness or advanced frailty near the end-of-life.

They work together! All adults should have an advance directive, but consider POLST if and when you are diagnosed with a serious illness or frailty.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Timothy P. Murphy

Timothy P. Murphy is an estate planning and elder law attorney whose practice emphasizes helping people to build, preserve and pass on their wealth. He works with his clients to accomplish their goals while avoiding unnecessary court proceedings and minimizing or eliminating exposure to death taxes.

Latest posts by Timothy P. Murphy (see all)

• Estate Planning for Individuals with a Terminal Illness - May 18, 2023
• A Living Trust Allows for Estate Privacy - May 6, 2023
• Probate in California – Creditor Notifications - May 4, 2023