§ 2310-600 — Advance directive information

(a) The Department of Public Health shall prepare and publish the summary of advance directives law, as required by the federal Patient Self-Determination Act, and related forms. Publication may be limited to the World Wide Web. The summary required under this subsection (a) must include the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form. (b) The Department of Public Health shall publish Spanish language versions of the following: (1) The statutory Living Will Declaration form. (2) The Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Health Care. (3) The statutory Declaration of Mental Health Treatment Form. (4) The summary of advance directives law in Illinois. (5) The Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form. Publication may be limited to the World Wide Web. (b-5) In consultation with a statewide professional organization representing physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, statewide organizations representing physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses, nursing homes, registered professional nurses, and emergency medical systems, and a statewide organization representing hospitals, the Department of Public Health shall develop and publish a uniform form for practitioner cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or life-sustaining treatment orders that may be utilized in all settings. The form shall meet the published minimum requirements to nationally be considered a practitioner orders for life-sustaining treatment form, or POLST, and may be referred to as the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form. An electronic version of the Uniform POLST form under this Act may be created, signed, or revoked electronically using a generic, technology-neutral system in which each user is assigned a unique identifier that is securely maintained and in a manner that meets the regulatory requirements for a digital or electronic signature. Compliance with the standards defined in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or the implementing rules of the Hospital Licensing Act for medical record entry authentication for author validation of the documentation, content accuracy, and completeness meets this standard. This form does not replace a physician's or other practitioner's authority to make a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. (b-10) In consultation with a statewide professional organization representing physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, statewide organizations representing physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses, nursing homes, registered professional nurses, and emergency medical systems, a statewide bar association, a national bar association with an Illinois chapter that concentrates in elder and disability law, a not-for-profit organ procurement organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation, a statewide committee or group responsible for stakeholder education about POLST issues, and a statewide organization representing hospitals, the Department of Public Health shall study the feasibility of creating a statewide registry of advance directives and POLST forms. The registry would allow residents of this State to submit the forms and for the forms to be made available to health care providers and professionals in a timely manner for the provision of care or services. This study must be filed with the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2021. (b-15) The Department of Public Health shall approve training resources to support informed decisions and accurate completion of the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form. The Department of Public Health shall post approved POLST training material to the Department of Public Health's website. The Department of Public Health shall establish a simple, efficient, and effective process to make available yearly training to support informed decisions and accurate completion of the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form for personnel employed by or contracted with facilities licensed and classified to provide intermediate care or skilled nursing care under the Nursing Home Care Act and other health care providers that use the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form. (c) (Blank). (d) The Department of Public Health shall publish the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form reflecting the changes made by this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly no later than January 1, 2015.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 104-51, eff. 1-1-26 .)