From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is an approach to improving end-of-life care in the United States, encouraging doctors to speak with patients and create specific medical orders to be honored by health care workers during a medical crisis.nlike advance directives, a POLST summarizes the patients' wishes in the form of physician orders for end-of-life care. POLST provides explicit guidance to health professionals under predictable future circumstances. POLST can build on an advance directive but can also function in the absence of an advance directive.