POLST, which is new legislation for Arkansas, passed in August 2017, allows Physician?s orders for end of life treatment or non-treatment. As a legal medical order, emergency personnel are able to follow specific instructions for patients with life expectancy of less than one year. This document is portable across multiple care settings and can be easily modifiable. POLST and Advance Directives are supportive documents used for end of life planning. They support each other but do different things. Healthcare providers will learn communication techniques for broaching end of life conversations as well as steps to implement the POLST forms into current practice.

Flyer

1. Describe the standard of care for utilizing POLST
2. Define POLST
3. Explain differences between POLST and Advance Directives
4. Identify elements of a POLST form including where to obtain one for completion

In support of improving patient care, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.