A major misconception that is frequently debated during and after presentations on Powers of Attorney for Healthcare and cardiopulmonary resuscitation is that an attorney can provide the informed consent and authentication of these wishes. Even if the attorney is a physician, he/she is not the treating clinician and is practicing outside the standard of their legal practice if they sign these documents.
A Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) or Physician Ordered Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) document CANNOT be completed and signed by an attorney. These are physician-ordered treatment or withholding of treatment orders. Many jurisdictions have general categories of treatment options as part of their statutory power of attorney or living will forms. However, those directives are not physician orders. This language is written in legalese and is to provide the Power of Attorney for Healthcare a general sense of the wishes of the grantor. These generalized wishes do not give the order for resuscitation or no resuscitation physician orders.
The healthcare provider who signs the DNR or POLST is authenticating that they have had an informed consent discussion with the grantor. The grantor understands what the implications of their decision entail, and they are entrusting their decision to the healthcare team for future treatment. An attorney who would sign a DNR or POLST is practicing medicine without a license, and they have put their law license in jeopardy.
Both attorneys and healthcare providers are essential members of the planning team. However, they have different roles and responsibilities. It is vital that both of these professionals are part of the team, but make sure that you advocate for yourself to get the optimal direction from each. Neither is more important, but both are essential.