Oklahoma POLST Form: What It Is, How to Get One, and When You Need It

Your advance directive tells hospitals what you want during a terminal crisis. But between your home, the ambulance, the ER, and the ICU, that document can get lost in translation — or never get read at all. Oklahoma's POLST form solves that problem by converting your wishes into immediate physician orders that follow you everywhere.

What the POLST Is

The Oklahoma Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (OkPOLST) is a standardized medical order printed on highly visible pink paper. Governed by the Oklahoma POLST Act (63 O.S. § 3105.3), it is completed jointly by a patient (or their legal representative) and a licensed physician.

The critical difference from an advance directive: the POLST is active immediately upon signature. It does not require a declaration of incapacity, does not need two physicians to certify your condition, and provides direct, legally binding orders to emergency responders, hospital staff, and nursing facility personnel.

What the POLST Covers

The OkPOLST addresses three categories of medical intervention:

Section A — CPR. If your heart stops or you stop breathing, do you want full resuscitation attempts or a do-not-resuscitate order?

Section B — Medical interventions. Beyond CPR, this covers three levels of treatment: comfort measures only (keep you comfortable but do not transfer to a hospital), limited additional interventions (IV fluids, antibiotics, but avoid intubation and ICU), or full treatment (everything including ICU and mechanical ventilation).

Section C — Artificially administered nutrition. Whether to provide tube feeding if you cannot eat on your own — ranging from no artificial nutrition to a trial period to long-term feeding.

Who Should Get a POLST

A POLST is not for everyone. It is designed for people who are:

• Seriously ill with a life-limiting condition
• Frail and likely to need emergency medical care
• Living in a nursing home or assisted living facility
• Receiving hospice or palliative care
• At a point where their treatment preferences might differ from "do everything possible"

Healthy adults completing an advance directive for the first time generally do not need a POLST. The advance directive handles future scenarios; the POLST handles current medical reality.

How the POLST Differs from a DNR and Advance Directive

The POLST is the most comprehensive portable medical order available. A DNR only addresses CPR. An advance directive covers everything but does not activate until two physicians certify your condition. The POLST bridges both gaps — covering multiple intervention categories with immediate legal force.

Out-of-State POLST Recognition

If you move to Oklahoma with a POLST from another state, be aware that Oklahoma only recognizes out-of-state POLST documents for a maximum of ten days following admission to a care facility. After that, you must execute a new Oklahoma-conforming OkPOLST with an Oklahoma-licensed physician.

How to Get an Oklahoma POLST

1. Start the conversation with your physician. The POLST requires a face-to-face discussion about your current medical condition, prognosis, and treatment goals.
2. Complete the form together. Your physician fills out the medical orders based on your stated preferences. The form must be signed by both you (or your representative) and the physician.
3. Keep the pink form visible and portable. The original travels with you — clip it to the front of your medical chart, keep it on the refrigerator at home, and make sure caregivers and family know where it is.

No witnesses or notarization are required for a POLST — the physician's signature alone makes it a valid medical order.

The Oklahoma Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes a POLST/DNR coordination guide that explains how these physician orders work alongside your advance directive and helps you prepare for the conversation with your doctor.

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