California Senate Passes End-of-Life Care Bill

The California Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at improving end-of-life care by modernizing advance care planning documents. Authored by Sen.

Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, the bill received zero no votes and is designed to provide clarity and consistency for do-not-resuscitate (DNR) and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms. The legislation allows nurse practitioners and physician assistants to sign these forms, in addition to doctors.

It also ensures that POLST and DNR forms executed in other states are valid in California and permits electronic signatures on POLST forms. "People should get the end-of-life care they want, even if they are incapacitated or can no longer express their wishes," Blakespear said.

The bill is supported by the Coalition for Compassionate Care, Alzheimer's Orange County, the California Academy of Family Physicians, and the California Catholic Conference. It is opposed by the California Clinical Nurse Specialist Association, which wants clinical nurse specialists included.

The bill now moves to the Assembly.