Medical Ethics

Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment - POLST

As in effect on March 1, 2005

432-31-1. Legal Authority
This rule is adopted pursuant to Title 26, Chapter 21.

R432-31-2. Purpose
This rule provides for the orderly communication and transfer of patient preferences for life- sustaining treatment when a patient transfers from one licensed health care facility to another.

R432-31-3. Transferable Physician Order

  1. A physician may enter a patient's preferences and the physician's orders for life- sustaining treatment on a transferable physician order form. The Department shall, in consultation with the Health Facility Committee, design a uniform transferable physician order form that may be used by physicians and health care facilities.
  2. Upon admission to a health care facility or acceptance to a home health agency, the facility or agency shall make a good faith effort to determine whether the individual's physician has completed a transferable physician order for life-sustaining treatment.
  3. A health care facility or its employee that makes a good faith effort to follow the instructions in a transferable physician order for life-sustaining treatment is not subject to any Department sanction as a result of those good faith efforts.
  4. The transferable physician order for life-sustaining treatment is fully transferable between all licensed health care facilities.
  5. A transferring licensed health care facility shall send the physician order for life-sustaining treatment, if it exists, with the patient to the receiving facility. The receiving facility and health care providers at the receiving facility shall honor the physician order for life-sustaining treatment until it has been properly changed or voided.

KEY
health facilities

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment
December 19, 2002

Authorizing, Implemented, or Interpreted Law
26-21