Get Medical Orders For Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) (DOH-5003)

MOLST and POLST are two acronyms defining medical orders. The MOLST is the Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment and the POLST is the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment. They're both the same thing, but in different states they call them by those two different names.

The MOLST form is a set of medical orders for patients with advanced illness who might die within 1-2 years; require long-term care services; or wish to avoid and/or receive specific life-sustaining treatments now.

If the patient loses the ability to make MOLST decisions and the patient has already made decisions to withhold certain life-sustaining treatment (e.g. Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) and Do Not Intubate (DNI), the health care agent or surrogate cannot undo the patient's decision.

Advance directives (like a health care proxy and living will) document future care preference and are difficult to interpret in an emergency. Advance directives are for everyone 18 years of age and older. MOLST is a set of medical orders that defines life-sustaining treatment the patient wants to receive or avoid now.

The primary differences between the MOLST form and a DNR are: MOLST covers a variety of end-of-life treatments. A DNR only gives instructions about CPR. The MOLST form can also be used in a community setting where the DNR is intended to be used as a directive in a hospital setting.

The Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form is a written medical order from a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant that helps give people with serious illnesses more control over their own care by specifying the types of medical treatment they want to receive during serious illness.

One more distinction to keep in mind, as you debate a POLST, MOLST, or DNR, is that DNRs are only applicable when your heart stops beating or you stop breathing. POLST forms, however, can detail your desire to decline other life-sustaining treatments, such as intubation.

The primary differences between the MOLST form and a DNR are: MOLST covers a variety of end-of-life treatments. A DNR only gives instructions about CPR. The MOLST form can also be used in a community setting where the DNR is intended to be used as a directive in a hospital setting.