Liverpool Care Pathway: Warning for POLST?

Four months have elapsed since the report of the independent review of the Liverpool Care Pathway and the decision to phase out the Pathway over six to 12 months.  Many UK clinicians have already stopped using the LCP.  This is unfortunate since there is no appropriate replacement guidance in place.  

These developments in the UK cause me some worry about end-of-life tools here in the United States.  As I read about the occasional misuse of POLST, I hope that such rare instances do not similarly "bring down" what, for the overwhelming vast majority of patients and residents, has proven to be a very effective way to ensure that the treatment patients get is the treatment patients want.