A study released this month found that nursing home patients who participate in a program that lets them record their end-of-life treatment wishes are much more likely to get those wishes met.
The Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment program, or POLST, allows patients to specify the type of end-of-life care they want. The study found that patients with a POLST were 59% less likely to get unwanted hospitalizations and medical interventions.
In a California Healthline Special Report by Mina Kim, researchers and geriatric experts discuss the study and its implications for California.
The Special Report includes comments from:
- Kenneth Brummel-Smith, chair of the Department of Geriatrics at Florida State University College of Medicine;
- Judy Citko, executive director of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California; and
- Jeffrey Yee, chief of general medicine at Woodland Healthcare (Kim, California Healthline, 7/16).
The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a PDF.