What is the LaPOST document?
The Louisiana Physicians Orders for Scope of Treatment — LaPOST — is a gold-colored document noting a set of portable medical orders which improves communication between patients and doctors by providing the means for those with serious advanced illnesses to express their preferences about medical care.
Approved as Act 954 in the 2010 regular session of the State Legislature, and a quality initiative of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum, the LaPOST document travels with the patient across health settings, ensuring that those wishes are honored, regardless of their location.
The LaPOST document is completely voluntary is and not biased for or against treatment. It represents a plan of care for individuals to choose and clearly state their own preferences for medical treatment when faced with life-limiting and irreversible illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. The LaPOST document can be completed for a qualified Louisiana resident, regardless of age whose life expectancy is less than six months. The document is modeled after the Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Paradigm, which is used in many states and should be completed after a thorough discussion with the patient or their personal health care representative, regarding the patient’s understanding of the illness, treatment preferences, values and goals of care.
Individuals with an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias are encouraged to make decisions about their future care. The LaPOST document can outline clearly what the affected individual desires in their care plan. Conversations about life-sustaining treatments and end-of-life care can be openly discussed with their physician so that those wishes can be put in place by this legally sustaining document. The document can help ensure that the individual’s wishes are honored, prevent unwanted or non-beneficial treatments, and reduce patient and family stress regarding decision-making. The LaPOST is a medical order and must be signed by a physician and also by the individual or their personal health care representative, if the individual is unable to speak for themselves.
A LaPOST document is a “stand alone” document, complements an advance health care directive but is not intended to replace it. An advance directive is still necessary to appoint a legal health care decision maker and is recommended for all adults, regardless of their health status. Should there be a conflict between an advance directive and a LaPOST document, the more recent document will be followed.
"It’s always better to be prepared. And preparation is key when it comes to receiving the kind of medical care you want if you suddenly became very ill and could not speak for yourself." (remarks in an April 2020 Facebook post by Ochsner Health from Dr. Susan Nelson, medical director of post-acute care for the Ochsner Health Network and system chair, palliative medicine and bioethics with Ochsner Health, chair of the LaPOST Coalition as well as being on the Leadership Council of National POLST initiatives).
For more information about LaPOST, visit https://la-post.org.