Fine Tuning the POST System:The Case of an Invalid, Contradictory

POST Form

Alvin H. Moss, MD, FACP, FAAHPMCenter for Health Ethics and Law

Objectives

Analyze a case which highlights the importance of POST form completion

Describe the most recent evidence on the impact of advance directives in the country

Identify the advantages of the POST system over advance directives to honor patients’ end-of-life care wishes

Explain how the WV e-Directive Registry will enable patients’ end-of-life care wishes to be respected

Discuss common errors on forms submitted to the Registry

At the conclusion of this conference, participants should be able to:

Fine Tuning the POST System: The Case of an Invalid, Contradictory POST

Form

A 78 year-old woman was admitted from a nursing home with chest pain. She had a past history of coronary artery disease status post stent placement, congestive heart failure, hypertension, lipid disorder, and mild dementia. A POST form accompanied the patient and indicated CPR in Section A and Limited Additional Interventions in Section B. The EMTs and later the attending physician wondered what he should do with the POST form because Section A and Section B seemed to be contradictory. The POST form had been prepared by a social worker who had signed it, but there was no physician signature on it.

In transporting the patient, EMS worried, “What do I do if she codes and I do CPR and get her back, but she is not breathing normally? Do I intubate her?” The emergency department physician wondered the same thing, but fortunately she did not suffer a cardiac arrest during transport

The attending physician saw the patient in the emergency department and reviewed the POST form without any additional notes or documentation.

When interviewed by the palliative care team who was consulted to address the POST form inconsistency, the patient indicated that she would not want to be kept alive on machines and when it was explained to her that if she had CPR and lived through it, it was very likely that she would end up being on a breathing machine. She said, “Well then, I don’t want CPR.” A revised POST form was created and signed by the patient and the palliative care physician. The patient was discharged back to the nursing home.The daughter who lived out of state and who was the patient’s Medical Power of Attorney representative reviewed the POST form and stated she wanted her mother to have CPR.

What should be done with regard to the contradictory POST form and the daughter’s request? How could these situations be prevented in the future?

Fine Tuning the POST System: The Case of an Invalid, Contradictory

POST Form cont’d

Learning IssuesWho should be making the decisions for this patient and on what basis?

How should that person legally be designated?

How should the POST form be completed and what should be indicated in each section?

What should be done with the POST form after it is completed?

How could the conflict in this case have been prevented?

•The vast majority (⅔ to over ¾) of older adults are willing to participate in ACP

•ACP results in statistically significantly different and improved EOLC for patients

The Outcomes of Advance Care Planning (ACP)

Silveira MJ et al. Advance directives and outcomes of surrogate decision making before death. N Engl J Med 2010;362:1211-1218.Detering KM et al. The impact of advance care planning on end-of-life care in elderly patients: randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2010;340:c1345. doi:10.1136/bmj.c1345

Latest Studies

Outcomes of Advance DirectivesOf 3746 older adults (>60 yo), 42.5% required EOL decision making

Of these 1,536 older patients who required EOLC decisions, 70.3% lacked capacity

In short, 29.8% of older adults required EOL decisions but lacked capacity

Of these 999 patients, 67.5% had advance directives

Patients with an advance directive were significantly more likely to want limited or comfort care and receive itSilveira MJ et al. Advance directives and outcomes of surrogate decision making

before death. N Engl J Med 2010;362:1211-1218.

Elements of the Advance Care Planning Process

Begins by clarifying the patient’s current health status

Moves to elicitation of the patient’s goals of care

Identifies the patient’s preferred decision-maker if the patient loses decision-making capacity

Completes a Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) form to ensure patient’s wishes are respected

Gillick MR. Reversing the code status of advance directives?N Engl J Med 2010;362:1239-1240.

Differences between POSTand Advance Directives

Characteristics POST Advance Directives

Population For theseriously ill All adults

Timeframe Current care Futurecare

Who completes the form Health Care Professionals Patients

Resulting form Medical Orders (POST) Advance Directives

Health Care Agent or Surrogate role

Canengage in discussion if patient lacks capacity

Cannot complete

Portability Providerresponsibility Patient/ familyresponsibility

Periodic review Providerresponsibility Patient/ family responsibility

Bomba PA, Black J, Kemp M. The POLST: An improvement over traditional advance directives. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. In press.

Hickman, SE, et al. A Comparison of Methods to Communicate Treatment Preferences in Nursing Facilities: Traditional Practices Versus the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Program. JAGS. 2010; 58: 1241-1248.

Hickman, SE et al. The Consistency Between Treatments Provided to Nursing Facility Residents and Orders on the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Form. JAGS. Published online: 22 Oct 2011

Lynn, J. et. al. Ann Intern Med 2003;138:812-818

Elements essential to reliable, high-quality care for patients

with fatal chronic illness—a systemssystems approach

Communication across Settings

“…the health care facility initiating the transfer shall communicate the existence of the POST form to the receiving facility prior to the transfer. The POST form shall accompany the person to the receiving facility and shall remain in effect.”Code of West Virginia, §16-30-1 et seq.

Components of the System

Standardized practices and policiesTrained advance care planning facilitatorsTimely discussions prompted by prognosisClear, specific language on an actionable form

Bright form easily found among paperworkOrders honored throughout the systemQI activities for continual refinementStatewide registry so that forms are available

Legal Protection with POST Use

Standardized form according to state lawLegally recognized DNR identificationProtection from civil or criminal liability for good faith compliance with and reliance upon POST

Protocol for use in interinstitutional transfers

Law covers compliance with POST when completed by MD not credentialed in facility

Transfer of POST Form

Copier to the Photo/Picture setting Contrast to the lowest setting Double-sided copies on 8 ½ x 11” Astrobrights Pulsar Pink 24 lb. paper*

Adjust the contrast setting on your copier to achieve the clearest possible copy

Can copy white FAX onto pink paper*Office Depot, Office Max, Staples

Form Shall Always Accompany Patient/Resident When Transferred or Discharged!

On the top of the transfer packet!

“Would I be surprised if this patient died in the next year?”

for Palliative Care Evaluation and Advance Care Planning

Moss et al. Utility of the “surprise” question to identify dialysis patients with high mortality. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2008;3:1379-1384.Moss et al. Prognostic significance of the “surprise” question in cancer patients.J Palliat Med 2010;13:837-840

The “surprise” Question:A Trigger

Accurate, relevant information available in a medical crisis24/7 online access by health care providers through WVHINConsumer able to confirm online accuracy of their advance

directives and medical orders (DNR and POST forms) in the Registry

Patients’ wishes will be respected throughout the continuum of health care settings

Password-protected – HIPAA compliant

Registry FAX 304-293-7442

Total Registry Forms Received by Type

Problems with POST Completion

Just 4 errors make up 72% of all the “not Registry ready” POST forms.

Form Type Error Rate

POST Forms 29%

Surrogate Selection 27%

Living Will 23%

DNR Cards 22%

Medical Power of Attorney 15% Combined Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney 14%

The Most Common POST Form Errors

1. The Opt-In Box was not initialed2. The form is missing pages3. Conflicting elections in sections A

and B4. Physician’s signature is missing

Take-home Messages

Be sure to initiate advance care planning discussions with patients for whom you would not be surprised if they died in the next year

Complete POST forms as part of advance care planningSubmit forms to e-Directive Registry so that patient’s medical orders will be available in a crisis

Contact the Center for…● DNR Cards ● POST Forms ●Brochures•Advance Directives ● Health Care Surrogate Forms

www.wvendoflife.org877.209.8086

FAX 304.293.7442