OHSU develops instant, computerized notification system to communicate patients' end-of-l...( If patients are unable to make their wi...),Health

If patients are unable to make their wishes known because an injury to the brain is severe and prolonged, health professionals look for an advance directive to find out who the patient has appointed to speak on his or her behalf. OHSU's new electronic record system ensures that an advance directive will be found when needed. This legal document allows health care professionals to clearly understand and follow the patient's wishes, even when family members passionately disagree.

"The alert system makes it possible for me to quickly and easily locate a patient's previously documented medical wishes from any workstation in the hospital," explained Barbara Glidewell, director of the Department of Patient Relations at OHSU Hospital. "It's an important tool that's used on a near daily basis to ensure our patients' wishes are respected."

"In the emergency department, things can happen very quickly, and knowing a patient's end-of-life wishes really helps to make the correct decision," said Terri Schmidt, M.D., an emergency room physician at OHSU Hospital. "Having the new electronic POLST information can help to assure patients get the treatments they want and helps them avoid interventions they would not want"

OHSU patients interested in taking part in the new system, which was launched in January 2005, should talk to their physician and provide a copy of their POLST or advanced directive form, which can be electronically scanned and directly linked to their health records. While enrollment in the system is only available to OHSU patients at this time, the patients do not need to be treated at OHSU for the alert to occur. The treating hospital would be informed when the patient's medical records are obtained. The end-of-life documents could then be sent to the treating hospital electronically.

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Contact: Jim Newman
newmanj@ohsu.edu
503-494-8231
Oregon Health & Science University
8-Apr-2005

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