…lude anything from the current level of information we have about how POLST is being implemented in the states that have it, it’s that many questions remain unanswered, strong reasons for concern exist, and federal funding to promote POLST is premature. The POLST provisions of H.R. 1173 should be amended to fund independent research to answer the serious questions and concerns that many have raised. That’s what the Institute of Medicine and this C…
…atient’s representative with the ability to revoke or modify the patient’s POLST if the patient who has a completed POLST form has lost loses decision-making capacity. This and further revisions of section 7.d. provide that the representative’s power to revoke or modify the POLST form is determined by the individual. Finally, the original bill requires disagreements between the individual, their representative and the physician or nurse to be subm…
…to be accurate in reflecting the medical profession’s intent in promoting POLST, you’d say “against” or “vs” because there seems to be a far from subtle POLST bias against life-sustaining treatment. In fact, as NPR’s After the Cranberries and Pie, Let’s Talk About Death by Nancy Shute explains: “Because it’s signed by a doctor or other provider, a POLST has teeth. It overrides the legal obligation of an EMT or a hospital to provide CPR and other…
…l orders because they are signed by a physician. According to the National POLST Paradigm Task Force: …[T]he intended audience for use of POLST … is patients for whom the health care professional’s response to the surprise question- “Would I be surprised if this patient died in the next 12 months?”- is “No, I would not be surprised.” These include: (1) seriously ill patients with life-limiting progressive advanced illness; and (2) patients with ad…
…l orders because they are signed by a physician. According to the National POLST Paradigm Task Force: …[T]he intended audience for use of POLST … is patients for whom the health care professional’s response to the surprise question- “Would I be surprised if this patient died in the next 12 months?”- is “No, I would not be surprised.” These include: (1) seriously ill patients with life-limiting progressive advanced illness; and (2) patients with ad…
