DMOST > POLST: Governor Signs SB 274 Into Law
September 22, 2026 | Uncategorized
Orders for Scope of Treatment) to POLST (Delaware Portable Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) to align Delaware with the nationally recognized POLST framework and promote greater consistency and portability of medical orders across healthcare settings.
Existing DMOST forms remain valid; SB 274 specifically includes a savings/transitional provision so the name change does not invalidate previously executed DMOST forms. But the legislation does more than rename the program—it makes substantive changes intended to bring Delaware law closer to the national model law, including provisions concerning decision-making capacity and authorized representatives.
- Repeals requirements that conflict with the national model law regarding a patient’s ability to limit the future authority of the patient’s authorized representative to modify the orders in the patient’s POLST form.
- Allows any health-care practitioner authorized under Chapter 25A of Title 16 to complete a POLST form to find that a patient lacks sufficient decision-making capacity to execute a POLST form. Under existing law, all practitioners who are licensed and authorized to write medical orders under Title 24 may complete POLST forms, but only physicians can determine that a patient lacks sufficient decision-making capacity to execute a POLST form. This change is consistent with the capacity provisions under Chapter 25 of Title 16, the recently enacted Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act.
- Requires a health-care practitioner to document in the patient’s medical record that the patient lacks decision-making capacity. Clarifies the existing requirement that a patient’s authorized representative may not execute a POLST form for a patient unless the patient’s lack of decision-making capacity is documented in the patient’s medical record.
- Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including corresponding name changes to other Code sections that reference the DMOST form.