HB 1506 -- Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment

Sponsor:  Bruns

This bill establishes the Missouri Physician Orders for Scope of
Treatment Act and requires the Department of Health and Senior
Services to develop, implement, and promulgate rules on or before
December 31, 2006, regarding the use of a physician orders for
scope of treatment (POST) form and personal identifiers.
Standardized POST forms and POST personal identifiers will assist
emergency medical services personnel and health care providers in
carrying out the treatment wishes of patients.  POST forms are to
be issued on bright, pink-colored paper and, unless otherwise
specified, must be the first page of a patient's medical record
in a health care facility.

All POST forms must provide the orders of an attending physician
regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation; whether the patient has
completed a living will, advanced directive, health care
directive, durable power of attorney for health care, or had a
guardian appointed; the date, location, and outcome of any review
of the form; and the signature of the attending physician,
patient, and if applicable, the patient's representative.  This
form must accompany a patient when transferred from one health
care facility to another, and the transferring facility must
inform the receiving facility of the existence of the POST
document prior to the transfer.

Upon admittance to another health care facility, the attending
physician must review and, if necessary, make changes to the
form.  Emergency medical services personnel are required to
document compliance or noncompliance with a POST form or personal
identifier and, if possible, the reasons for not complying with
the order.  If an individual does not have a POST form with an
order not to attempt to resuscitate or a personal identifier, all
emergency medical services personnel must attempt to resuscitate
the patient.

A form or personal identifier is revoked once a patient or a
patient's designated representative is able to communicate his or
her wishes.  An attending physician who is informed of the
patient's wish to revoke must immediately cancel the patient's
physician orders for scope of treatment and, if necessary, notify
the staff of the health care facility.

Any person or entity who complies with the orders in a POST form
or personal identifier will not be held civilly or criminally
liable.  Any person or entity who provides cardiopulmonary
resuscitation or other life-sustaining treatment to a patient who
in good faith was not aware of the POST form or identifier,
believed it to be revoked, or thought the physician's
authorization or issuance had been revoked will not be held
civilly or criminally liable.

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated November 29, 2006 at 9:43 am