POLST (an acronym for “Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment”) is a new kind of advanced medical decision-making document ostensibly designed to improve communication and decision-making, especially at the end of life. POLST is spreading rapidly across the United States as a result of a concerted campaign. The Catholic Medical Association published a White Paper on POLST in the May 2013 issue of the Linacre Quarterly, CMA’s journal of medical ethics. To read more about POLST, and to download a PDF copy of the White Paper, click the PDF icon to the right.

  People and patients looking for practical resources for making advanced medical decisions should consider:

 
• A Protective Medical Decision Document issued by the Patients Rights Council

 

• A Catholic Guide to End-of-Life Decisions issued by the National Catholic Bioethics Center

 

• A resource from the bishops, such as this Combined Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney form produced by the bishops of Pennsylvania.

POLST (an acronym for “Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment”) is a new kind of advanced medical decision-making document ostensibly designed to improve communication and decision-making, especially at the end of life. POLST is spreading rapidly across the United States as a result of a concerted campaign. The Catholic Medical Association published a White Paper on POLST in the May 2013 issue of the Linacre Quarterly, CMA’s journal of medical ethics. To read more about POLST, and to download a PDF copy of the White Paper, click the PDF icon to the right.

  People and patients looking for practical resources for making advanced medical decisions should consider:

 
• A Protective Medical Decision Document issued by the Patients Rights Council

 

• A Catholic Guide to End-of-Life Decisions issued by the National Catholic Bioethics Center

 

• A resource from the bishops, such as this Combined Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney form produced by the bishops of Pennsylvania.

  More information on POLST will be added to this page from time to time.