Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has created a file of the prevalence of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) documents in California, limited to residents in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). This file enables a comparison of the proportion of nursing home residents that are reported to have a completed POLST form in their medical chart, by county and year, between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2023. POLST treatment preferences are actionable as a Doctor’s Order if accompanied with the signatures of either the patient or a legally recognized decision maker, and that of a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Counts of nursing homes and of distinct nursing home residents are also provided. Visuals include percentages of California skilled nursing facility residents with completed or unsigned POLST forms statewide and by county, and completion of medical treatment sections of signed POLST forms statewide and by county. Resources include POLST forms and All Facility Letters (AFL) sent by CDPH to facilities regarding POLST and Section S information.