Nevada's Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Form

You may have heard about a new kind of health care directive in Nevada, called a Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form. Here, we discuss what a POLST form is and when you might need one.

What Is a POLST Form?

A POLST form is a doctor’s order that helps you keep control over medical care at the end of life. Like a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order, the form tells emergency medical personnel and other health care providers whether or not to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of a medical emergency. A POLST form may be used in addition to -- or instead of -- a DNR order. The POLST form may also provide other information about your wishes for end-of-life health care.

How to Make a POLST Form

A health care professional can help you create a POLST form if you enter a medical facility or health care setting -- such as a hospital, nursing home, or hospice care in a facility or at home. To be legally valid, the POLST form must be signed by a doctor. (See Nevada Assembly Bill 344, Section 16, passed on June 6, 2013, effective October 1, 2013.) If a member of the medical staff does not ask you whether you want to create a POLST form, you may ask for one.

In Nevada, a POLST form is printed on brightly colored paper so it will easily stand out in your medical records. The form travels with you if you move from one health care setting to another. You can change it or cancel it at any time.

How Does a POLST Form Differ From Other Health Care Directives?

A POLST form differs from a DNR order in one important way: A POLST form also includes directions about life-sustaining measures in addition to CPR, such as intubation, antibiotic use, and feeding tubes. It may also indicate whether you have chosen to donate your organs after death. The POLST form helps medical providers understand your wishes at a glance, but it is not a substitute for a properly prepared health care declaration (living will) and durable power of attorney for health care.

Taken together, a health care declaration and durable power of attorney for health care provide more information than a POLST form, including information about your health care agent and more detailed health care wishes. Therefore, if you have a POLST form, you do not need a DNR order, but you should still complete a declaration and power of attorney to provide a full set of wishes about your care.

For More Information

The website of the Nevada Legislature has published a sample of the new Nevada POLST form. To prepare a POLST form for yourself or a loved one, talk to your doctor.