POLST form and Healthcare Treatment in Massachusetts
POLST form and Healthcare Treatment in Massachusetts
To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die.
- Thomas Campbell
Your doctor and you can create a document called Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) in order to inform emergency care providers of the kind of treatment you wish to receive in an emergency situation.
The POLST form is almost the same as the Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order in that they must both be signed by you and your doctor and they both contain instructions on what and what not to administer during emergencies. However, unlike a DNR order, a POLST form has additional medical interventions included such as antibiotic use or feeding tubes. POLST forms are available to almost half the states in the U.S. They are sometimes know by other names - MOLST, POST, COLST, TROPP, La POST, etc.
What is a POLST form?
This is a form that describes your wishes for health care during medical emergencies. It can also contain information about your wishes for end-of- life health care.
How do I Create a POLST form?
You can ask the aid of a health care professional in creating your POLST form upon entering a medical facility or health care facilities like hospitals, hospice, or nursing home. You may ask for a POLST form if a medical staff does not ask you if you want one. Some states print their POLST form in a bright pink paper so it will stand out in your medical records. This form goes with you if you happen to go from one health facility to another. You have the capacity to change or cancel it anytime.
What is the Difference between a POLST form and other health care directives?
A POLST form has additional directions regarding life-sustaining measures aside from CPR that include intubation, feeding tubes, and antibiotic use as compared to DNR order. POLST form can help aid the medical providers with regards to your wishes at a glance. A DNR order is not needed if you have a POLST form.