Physicians support Wolk bill to honor patient´s wishes for end-of-life care
California Political Desk
June 14, 2008
SACRAMENTO–The Senate Health Committee voted unanimously this week to approve legislation by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) to provide patients with a concise new method to provide specific and unambiguous instructions for their end-of-life care.
Wolk´s Assembly Bill 3000 enables patients with a serious illness and life expectancy of a year or less to utilize a Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form to express their wishes regarding life-sustaining treatments such as resuscitation, nutrition, and pain management.
"The POLST process is the best way to ensure that a patient´s wishes for their end-of-life care are honored, and has already been adopted with great success in 15 states," said Wolk. "Unlike advance health care directives and do not resuscitate orders, POLST forms carry the weight of a doctor´s order. They are also easy for emergency care providers to identify and use, whether on-site or in the emergency room, as they are printed on easy-to-spot, bright pink paper and written in clear, unambiguous language."
Under the measure, a health care provider fills out the POLST form with the patient as part of a conversation about their illness. It must be signed by a doctor in order to be implemented. The bill also requires healthcare providers and emergency responders throughout the state to honor these forms across all health care settings, including emergency rooms.
Testifying in support of the bill was Dr. Jeff Yee from Woodland Health Care, one of seven POLST pilots programs funded by the Health Care Foundation. Dr. Yee provided the committee with a description of his firsthand experience in using the POLST form and the successful implementation of the pilot at Woodland Health Care.
Also testifying was Dr. Andrew Fenton, representing the California American College of Emergency Physicians which is cosponsoring the bill with the Alliance of Catholic Health Care and California Coalition for Compassionate Care.
"Unlike other forms, which can be confusing and use contradictory language, POLST forms are easy to understand and easy to spot," Dr. Fenton, an emergency medicine physician at Sutter Davis Hospital, and an assistant clinical professor at UC Davis Medical Center. "The POLST form helps us provide our patients with better care by specifically spelling out what the patient wants, which means a better experience for patients and their families in the long run."
AB 3000, which will next be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee, is broadly supported by more than 40 organizations including consumers and health care providers such as the California Medical Association, California Hospital Association, Palliative Care Association, California Association of Health Facilities and California Assisted Living Association.
Wolk´s Assembly Bill 3000 enables patients with a serious illness and life expectancy of a year or less to utilize a Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form to express their wishes regarding life-sustaining treatments such as resuscitation, nutrition, and pain management.
"The POLST process is the best way to ensure that a patient´s wishes for their end-of-life care are honored, and has already been adopted with great success in 15 states," said Wolk. "Unlike advance health care directives and do not resuscitate orders, POLST forms carry the weight of a doctor´s order. They are also easy for emergency care providers to identify and use, whether on-site or in the emergency room, as they are printed on easy-to-spot, bright pink paper and written in clear, unambiguous language."
Under the measure, a health care provider fills out the POLST form with the patient as part of a conversation about their illness. It must be signed by a doctor in order to be implemented. The bill also requires healthcare providers and emergency responders throughout the state to honor these forms across all health care settings, including emergency rooms.
Testifying in support of the bill was Dr. Jeff Yee from Woodland Health Care, one of seven POLST pilots programs funded by the Health Care Foundation. Dr. Yee provided the committee with a description of his firsthand experience in using the POLST form and the successful implementation of the pilot at Woodland Health Care.
Also testifying was Dr. Andrew Fenton, representing the California American College of Emergency Physicians which is cosponsoring the bill with the Alliance of Catholic Health Care and California Coalition for Compassionate Care.
"Unlike other forms, which can be confusing and use contradictory language, POLST forms are easy to understand and easy to spot," Dr. Fenton, an emergency medicine physician at Sutter Davis Hospital, and an assistant clinical professor at UC Davis Medical Center. "The POLST form helps us provide our patients with better care by specifically spelling out what the patient wants, which means a better experience for patients and their families in the long run."
AB 3000, which will next be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee, is broadly supported by more than 40 organizations including consumers and health care providers such as the California Medical Association, California Hospital Association, Palliative Care Association, California Association of Health Facilities and California Assisted Living Association.
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