Sponsored by the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, NHDD or National HealthCare Decisions Day – the 4th Annual such day, on April 16 – focuses attention upon the complexities of healthcare at or near the end of life. Too often the decline in health and mental acuity leaves us or our family members at the mercy of physicians and healthcare workers. Some are truly caring, but all too many are insensitive or misguided in their perception of the needs of the patient and family.
In response to this acute issue, “Physicians Orders for Life-sustaining Treatment Paradigm” or POLST, which is both an organization and a medical process (including formalized directions to and through physicians) is promoting a change in methods of care. Numerous states, predominantly on the West Coast of the United States, have adopted POLST legislation allowing the patient to direct the nature and level of care in respect to end of life issues.
Florida is said to be “developing” a POLST program. At this point, the “Living Will” directives proscribed by Florida law limit what may be chosen. Along with a Healthcare Authority, sometimes called a healthcare surrogacy or power of attorney, the Living Will provides a much improved set of choices over the prior absence of legal, therefore enforceable options. Our firm regularly prepares Living Wills and Healthcare Authority documents for our clients as part of their planning. We recommend that personal preferences be included in a separate direction or list to assist the holder of the Healthcare Authority in decision making. POLST offers much improvement to our present legal limitations, if adopted; we strongly support this concept.
For further information, the following Websites offer more on this issue:
http://www.ohsu.edu/polst/index.htm http://www.nhpco.org http://www.nhdd.org