The National POLST Paradigm has developed several "toolkits" to help individuals implement POLST.
The POLST Care Continuum toolkit is intended to help facilities unfamiliar with the POLST Paradigm to have a reference of what it is and provide resources (FAQs, sample policies and practices, etc.) to help them implement quality procedures that will support the treatment wishes of patients using the POLST Paradigm. Facilities covered include: inpatient hospitals, nursing homes, hospice, primary care, and emergency medical services (EMS).
The POLST Quality and Research Toolkit (PQRsT) is designed to facilitate the study and improvement of POLST Paradigm programs through data collection and analysis. The PQRsT consists of 30 instruments that have been created to study the POLST Paradigm for research or quality improvement projects, along with related research materials. POLST Paradigm programs and researchers who have studied POLST Paradigm programs have generously shared the instruments in the PQRsT in order to benefit POLST Paradigm programs nationwide. Each instrument is paired with a summary, which provides more information on utilizing the instrument in data collection.
POLST Implementation Resources include other resources useful for developing states in addition to the toolkit and the information on the National POLST Forum. (The forum is a great way to discuss any POLST topic anytime with colleagues locally or across the nation. It is a closed online discussion board for POLST advocates and health care professionals participating in their state POLST Program (it is not a patient or caregiver forum). To request access, please email us at info@polst.org, giving us your full name, title/organization and state in which you practice. ).