Impacting end-of-life care with new healthcare legislation: Patient-Directed Medical Orders (PDMO) in advance care planning

Impacting end-of-life care with new healthcare legislation: Patient-Directed Medical Orders (PDMO) in advance care planning
American Nurse - State Nurses Associations - Florida News Journal; by Meredith Fischer, BSN, RN, CHPN; 3/19/25 
Over the summer, a friend’s elderly father underwent resuscitation and intubation because his nursing facility could not locate his Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNRO) or Advanced Directive (AD). ... New legislation is being filed for a Patient-Directed Medical Order (PDMO) document designed to address the shortcomings of the ADs and DNRO forms—currently the primary tools for addressing end-of-life care preferences in Florida. The PDMO form originates from the POLST paradigm, which has been adopted by most states since its inception in Oregon in the early 1990s (National POLST, 2022). Healthcare professionals recognized that many individuals were not receiving the end-of-life care outlined in their ADs and DNROs due to accessibility, clarity, and practicality (National POLST, 2022).