Illinois POLST Form: What Families Need to Know

What the POLST Form Actually Does

A POLST — Practitioner Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment — is a medical order signed by a qualified practitioner: a physician, a licensed resident in at least the second year of graduate medical education, an advanced practice nurse, or a physician assistant. Unlike an advance directive, which states your parent's general wishes, a POLST translates those wishes into specific, actionable medical orders that first responders and hospital staff follow immediately.

The form covers three critical decisions: whether to attempt CPR, what level of medical intervention to pursue (full treatment, selective treatment, or comfort-focused treatment only), and whether to provide artificial nutrition through a feeding tube.

Because it's a medical order rather than a legal document, a POLST travels with your parent across every care setting — ambulance, emergency room, nursing home, hospice. Paramedics are trained to look for it and follow it without calling a physician first.

Who Should Complete a POLST in Illinois

The POLST is designed for people with serious illness or advanced frailty — not healthy adults doing general estate planning. The Illinois Department of Public Health recommends it for anyone who:

• Has been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness
• Is in the advanced stages of dementia or another progressive condition
• Would not be surprised if they died within the next year
• Resides in a skilled nursing facility or is receiving hospice care

If your parent is relatively healthy and simply wants to document their healthcare preferences, an advance directive or healthcare power of attorney is the right starting point. The POLST comes later, when medical circumstances have narrowed the range of realistic treatment options.

How a POLST Differs from an Advance Directive

These two documents serve different purposes and operate through different legal mechanisms.

An advance directive is a legal document your parent signs while they have capacity. It names a healthcare agent and describes general treatment preferences. It requires a witness (and ideally a notary for the healthcare POA portion). It sits in a medical chart until a physician determines your parent can no longer make their own decisions.

A POLST is a clinical document completed during a conversation between your parent (or their authorized decision-maker) and a qualified healthcare practitioner. It requires the practitioner's signature to become a valid medical order. It takes effect immediately and remains active regardless of your parent's decisional capacity.

The two documents complement each other. The advance directive establishes who speaks for your parent and outlines their general values. The POLST converts those values into specific orders for the medical situations most likely to arise given their current condition.

How to Complete the Illinois POLST

The process starts with a conversation — not a form download. A qualified practitioner must discuss your parent's current medical status, likely disease trajectory, and treatment preferences before completing the form.

During this conversation, the practitioner and your parent (or their healthcare agent, if your parent lacks capacity) work through each section: CPR status, level of medical intervention, and artificially administered nutrition. The practitioner then signs the form, making it an active medical order.

Your parent or their authorized representative also signs the form. If your parent lacks capacity, the person signing must be an authorized health care surrogate, a valid healthcare agent, or the court-appointed guardian, as applicable.

Once completed, keep the signed original or a copy with your parent; photocopies and digital copies are generally valid, and pink paper is recommended for visibility but is not required. Copies can go to the primary care physician's office, the hospital system, and any facility where your parent receives care. If your parent is living at home, keep the form posted on the refrigerator or inside the front door — that's where paramedics are trained to look.

When to Update or Revoke a POLST

A POLST should be reviewed any time your parent's medical condition changes significantly: a new diagnosis, a hospitalization, a transition between care settings, or a change in treatment goals.

Your parent can revoke the POLST at any time by telling their physician they want it canceled. The physician then voids the existing form. If your parent wants different orders, a new POLST is completed through the same conversation process.

If your parent has designated a healthcare agent through a power of attorney for health care, that agent can request a POLST review when the principal lacks capacity — but only the treating practitioner can modify or void the medical orders.

Getting the Legal Foundation Right

A POLST addresses end-of-life medical orders, but it doesn't give anyone authority to manage your parent's finances, sign facility contracts, or coordinate their overall care. If your parent is approaching the stage where a POLST makes sense, they likely also need a durable power of attorney for property, a healthcare power of attorney, and a HIPAA authorization to ensure their care team can share information with you.

The Illinois Power of Attorney & Guardianship Kit walks through each of these documents step by step, including the witness and notary requirements specific to Illinois law.

See more Illinois guides →