The Maine Hospice Council and Center for End-of-Life Care is the administrative home for the Maine State POLST Coalition, a broad-based coalition of providers and other stakeholders. POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is an actionable medical order intended for those facing a terminal illness, or who are in an advanced state of medical frailty. POLST orders are not intended for general use among older adults. Healthy adults should have an Advance Directive on file in their medical record.

PLEASE NOTE:

Great news! Maine has a new

Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Form!

The Current Maine POLST Form-do not copy

This form is a sample. To receive a copy without the “Do Not Copy” watermark, please fill out the release form above and send it to Maine Hospice Council.

Either fax to (207) 622-1274 or email to krandall@mainehospicecouncil.org

Printing Release Form

* Click here to download the current POLST Consumer Brochure

History of POLST in Maine

• 2008  – Maine POLST Coalition formed –  Leadership from Maine Hospice Council, Maine Health Care Association, MaineHealth; guidance and support from Attorney General’s Office & Office of Elder Services/DHHS. (There has been rapid growth in coalition since its formation)
• 2009 – Maine Medical Association Resolution in 2009 endorsing POLST and supporting physician education
• 2010 – Maine Hospice Council and Center for End-of-Life Care becomes POLST administrative home
• 2012 – Maine selected as one of five states to receive competitive 3 year POLST Advancement Grant from Retirement Research Foundation, Coordinated by National POLST Paradigm Task Force
• 2019 – Maine POLST Coalition adopts the National POLST form

Click here for the Current List of Maine POLST Coalition Members

POLST Resources

Articles:

JAMDA Special Article:"POLST is More Than a Code Status Order Form: Suggestions for Appropriate POLST Use in Long-term Care", Hickmen, Steinberg, Carney, Lum

Video Decision Support Tool for Completion of Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST): An Opportunity to Improve Advance Care Planning; Ramy Sedhom MD, Daniel Sedhom MD, Daniel Schaer MD, David Barile MD

Advance Care Planning:

Advance Care Planning: Advance Directives vs. POLST Forms:Key Differences Between Advance Directives and POLST forms

National POLST, "Understanding Advance Care Planning"

National POLST Handouts:

Map: Adoption of National POLST Form

"Patients Guide to Portable Medical Record"

"Understanding POLST"

To learn more about POLST, please contact the Maine Hospice Council and Center for End of Life Care, or the National administrative home, www.polst.org, which has a wealth of information for both providers and patients.

To subscribe to the National POLST eNewsletter, please go to http://www.polst.org/subscribe

To access the National POLST eNewsletters, please go to https://polst.org/newsletter-archive