Physician Orders for Life‐Sustaining Treatment (POLST): Outcomes in a PACE Program

Abstract

POLST completion in ElderPlace exceeds reported advance directive rates. Care matched POLST instructions for CPR, antibiotics, IV fluids, and feeding tubes more consistently than previously reported for advance directive instructions. Medical intervention level was consistent with POLST instructions for less than half the participants, however. We conclude that the POLST is effective for limiting the use of some life-sustaining interventions, but that the factors that lead physicians to deviate from patients' stated preferences merit further investigation.