Emergency care providers vary in their understanding of a type of medical order intended to communicate seriously ill patients' choices for life-sustaining treatments, according to a pair of studies ...

The American Hospital Association estimates that half of Americans suffer from chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Following a diagnosis, many experience concerns about the ...

In recent years, Physicians' Orders for Life Sustaining Treatments (POLST) forms have been seen as an important way to honor the end-of-life wishes of frail elderly or terminally ill patients who ...

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment forms help ensure that resident and surrogate care preferences are honored. Nursing facilities that use Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment ...

This is where safety issues potentially arise in the interpretation of POLST documents and lead to confusion for healthcare providers. According to this patient's POLST document, if he is in cardiac ...