POLST and California Law

Finally, the use of POLST is protected by California Law. Under the law, health care providers are required to treat individuals in accordance with their wishes. The POLST form is an effective tool to communicate those wishes, and POLST law gives immunity from civil or criminal liability to those who comply in good faith with a patient’s POLST requests.

“POLST gives us a structure for talking with patients about the end of life. Using POLST as a guide, we can talk about some of their most important medical choices.”

— Jim Mittelberger, MD, CMD, MPH, FACP