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Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) (ARCHIVED)

Published by California Department of Public Health | State of California | Catalog Last Checked: October 24, 2026 at 08:45 PM | Dataset Last Updated: September 24, 2026 at 06:13 PM
__Note:__ This web page is no longer being updated and is for historical purposes only. Currently CHCQ is waiting to hear back from CMS on 3 outstanding POLST variables. Once that information is received, CHCQ Informatics Branch will provide the updated dataset to UCLA. In the meantime, please submit your POLST data request to the CHCQ inbox. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has created a file of the prevalence of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) documents in California, limited to residents in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). This file enables a comparison of the proportion of nursing home residents that are reported to have a completed POLST form in their medical chart, by county and year, between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2023. POLST treatment preferences are actionable as a Doctor’s Order if accompanied with the signatures of either the patient or a legally recognized decision maker, and that of a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Counts of nursing homes and of distinct nursing home residents are also provided. Visuals include percentages of California skilled nursing facility residents with completed or unsigned POLST forms statewide and by county, and completion of medical treatment sections of signed POLST forms statewide and by county. Resources include POLST forms and All Facility Letters (AFL) sent by CDPH to facilities regarding POLST and Section S information.

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Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel public
contactPoint 
{
  "fn": "Center for Health Care Quality, Licensing & Certification Program",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:opendata@cdph.ca.gov"
}
description __Note:__ This web page is no longer being updated and is for historical purposes only. Currently CHCQ is waiting to hear back from CMS on 3 outstanding POLST variables. Once that information is received, CHCQ Informatics Branch will provide the updated dataset to UCLA. In the meantime, please submit your POLST data request to the CHCQ inbox. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has created a file of the prevalence of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) documents in California, limited to residents in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). This file enables a comparison of the proportion of nursing home residents that are reported to have a completed POLST form in their medical chart, by county and year, between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2023. POLST treatment preferences are actionable as a Doctor’s Order if accompanied with the signatures of either the patient or a legally recognized decision maker, and that of a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Counts of nursing homes and of distinct nursing home residents are also provided. Visuals include percentages of California skilled nursing facility residents with completed or unsigned POLST forms statewide and by county, and completion of medical treatment sections of signed POLST forms statewide and by county. Resources include POLST forms and All Facility Letters (AFL) sent by CDPH to facilities regarding POLST and Section S information.
distribution 
[
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Lookup Table",
    "format": "XLSX",
    "mediaType": "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet",
    "description": "The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has created a file of the prevalence of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) documents in California, limited to...",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.chhs.ca.gov/dataset/156c1977-6b4a-486b-b99e-2208defb1ec0/resource/bcd7e7e6-fe9c-4cd1-9b00-dbe70bd4b068/download/lookup-table-6_04272021.xlsx"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "POLST-related AFLs",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.chhs.ca.gov/dataset/156c1977-6b4a-486b-b99e-2208defb1ec0/resource/0168f630-d305-46a0-9527-763e7919f2b1/download/afls-packet_reorg_04262021_final.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "California SNF POLST Summary File",
    "format": "XLSX",
    "mediaType": "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.chhs.ca.gov/dataset/156c1977-6b4a-486b-b99e-2208defb1ec0/resource/6c61671d-ce60-4b97-b208-9aa74f0c8c14/download/polst_odf_ratios_2011-2023_01182024.xlsx"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Visual 1: Completed or Unsigned POLST Forms - by Year and County",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.chhs.ca.gov/dataset/156c1977-6b4a-486b-b99e-2208defb1ec0/resource/7eb9e220-4de5-49ad-81b2-fc5d64ede482/download/completed-or-unsigned-polst-forms-by-year-and-county_final_03152024.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "All resource data",
    "format": "ZIP",
    "mediaType": "application/zip",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.chhs.ca.gov/dataset/156c1977-6b4a-486b-b99e-2208defb1ec0/resource/9a8226da-8c41-41a2-a95a-a6afd587d85b/download/physician-orders-for-life-sustaining-treatment-polst-gb21z80q.zip"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "POLST White Paper",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.chhs.ca.gov/dataset/156c1977-6b4a-486b-b99e-2208defb1ec0/resource/ab8fc961-80e5-432c-9c4b-c1c841e950d1/download/polst-white-paper_5_2011-to-2023_final_03182024.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Visual 2: Completion of Medical Treatment Sections - by Year and County",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.chhs.ca.gov/dataset/156c1977-6b4a-486b-b99e-2208defb1ec0/resource/b1fe1fb8-a2a1-4a79-a2ef-898633238b87/download/completion-of-medical-treatment-sections-by-year-and-county_final_03152024.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "POLST Form Versions",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.chhs.ca.gov/dataset/156c1977-6b4a-486b-b99e-2208defb1ec0/resource/fbdb17e7-feb3-4e58-b0dc-0d122afc67f2/download/polst-packet-1.pdf"
  }
]
identifier ba7dd81a-4b55-495b-b9c9-d4eb5ea1115e
issued 2020-02-12T23:21:21.508595
keyword 
[
  "CHCQ",
  "CMS",
  "MDS",
  "POLST",
  "Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment",
  "Section S",
  "advance directive",
  "california department of public health",
  "cardiopulmonary resuscitation",
  "long-term care minimum data set",
  "skilled nursing facility"
]
license http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses/cc-by
modified 2026-09-24T18:13:22.592755
publisher 
{
  "name": "California Department of Public Health",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
theme 
[
  "Health and Human Services"
]
title Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) (ARCHIVED)

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