Health care decisions: life-sustaining treatment.

Removed standalone 'conservator' from the list of authorized signers throughout the bill. Only a 'conservator with health care decisionmaking authority' can now execute or modify a POLST form, narrowing who qualifies to sign.

Deleted Section 4783(b)(4), which required POLST forms to contain the date they were signed and established that dated forms take precedence over undated ones for the same patient. Forms no longer need a signing date to be valid.

Changed the definition of 'surrogate' in Sections 1861(e) and 4780(a)(4) from 'an individual authorized to act on behalf of a facility's interdisciplinary team' to 'a facility's interdisciplinary team' itself, expanding the category to include the team as a whole rather than just a designated individual.

Nurse practitioners practicing pursuant to Section 2837.103 or 2837.104 of the Business and Professions Code (independent practice NPs) are now explicitly authorized to sign POLST forms, not just NPs acting under physician supervision.

'Conservator with health care decisionmaking authority' is added as a recognized person who may execute or modify a POLST form throughout the bill, clarifying that this specific type of conservator has the same authority as a general conservator for these purposes.

The date in Section 4783(a) requiring forms to contain the acknowledgment language is changed from January 1, 1995 to January 1, 2027. This means forms printed between 1995 and 2027 remain valid without the updated language.

The definition of 'surrogate' in Section 4780(a)(4) and Section 1861(e) is refined to reference 'a facility's interdisciplinary team overseeing the care of a facility resident, as provided for in Section 1418.8' rather than 'an individual authorized to act on behalf of a facility's interdisciplinary team in overseeing the care of a resident.'

In Section 4780(a)(2)(B), the parenthetical '(portable medical orders)' is removed from the POLST form description, correcting an inaccurate expansion of the acronym.

The term 'Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment' is replaced throughout with 'POLST,' now defined as 'Portable Orders Listing Scope of Treatment.' This changes the conceptual framing of the document from physician-ordered life-sustaining treatment decisions to portable orders that list the scope of treatment.

A new definition of 'surrogate' is added to Health and Safety Code Section 1861 and expanded in Probate Code Section 4780(a)(4) to include an individual authorized to act on behalf of a facility's interdisciplinary team in overseeing the care of a resident, as defined in Section 1418.8 of the Health and Safety Code. This broadens who may execute a POLST form.

The amendment clarifies that failure to include a date on a POLST form does not invalidate an otherwise valid form. It also establishes that if both dated and undated POLSTs exist for the same patient, the dated form is treated as more recent.

The presumption available to health care providers regarding out-of-state or in-state requests for resuscitative measures is expanded from presuming the document is 'valid' to presuming it is 'valid and unrevoked,' strengthening enforceability.