Utah Do Not Resuscitate Form: How to Get a Valid DNR Order

A Utah do-not-resuscitate order is not a document you fill out and sign alone at home. Utah DHHS now refers to the current DNR form as an Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (OLST). The current OLST/POLST process requires completion by a medical provider and signatures from the patient or authorized surrogate and the medical provider for validity. This is a critical distinction because families often conflate a DNR with a living will or advance directive, and the legal mechanisms are entirely different.

DNR vs. Advance Directive: Two Different Things

The Utah Advance Health Care Directive (Title 75A, Chapter 9) lets you document your preferences about life-sustaining treatment, including CPR. But writing "I do not want resuscitation" in your directive does not create a DNR order. An advance directive expresses future preferences and can appoint a healthcare agent; it is not a medical order and does not by itself guide EMS.

An OLST/POLST is an actionable medical order. When paramedics arrive and find a valid order, it guides their response. When they find only an advance directive expressing preferences, they must assess the situation, contact the healthcare agent, and interpret the instructions in context. In an emergency, that delay can mean the patient receives CPR before anyone reads the directive.

How to Obtain a DNR in Utah

Step 1: Discuss your wishes with your physician. The conversation should cover the specific circumstances under which you do or do not want resuscitation attempted.

Step 2: The medical provider completes and signs the current OLST/POLST form. A valid form requires signatures from the patient or authorized surrogate and the medical provider; it covers DNR status plus additional preferences about medical interventions, artificial nutrition, and hospital transfers.

Step 3: Keep the signed form accessible. For home residents, the form should be posted in a visible location (refrigerator door is standard practice). For nursing home or assisted living residents, the facility keeps it on file and implements it as part of the care plan.

EMS personnel are trained to look for the OLST/POLST form. A signed OLST/POLST is immediately actionable. An advance directive alone, without a completed medical order, does not guarantee EMS will withhold resuscitation.

Who Can Request a DNR

The patient can request a DNR while they have decision-making capacity. If the patient lacks capacity, the healthcare agent named in their advance directive can request the DNR on their behalf, provided the request is consistent with the patient's documented treatment preferences.

If no advance directive or healthcare agent exists, Utah's surrogate hierarchy applies: a court-appointed guardian comes before next of kin, and next of kin are prioritized as spouse, adult children, parents, adult siblings, adult grandchildren, then grandparents, followed by an adult who has exhibited special care and concern for the patient and knows the patient's values. The surrogate's decision must reflect what the patient would have wanted based on known values and prior statements.

Revoking a DNR

A patient can change an OLST/POLST by working with the medical provider to complete a new order. An authorized surrogate may act only within the authority allowed by the current order and law. The provider should document any revocation or replacement, and EMS and care facilities need the current order.

Why the Advance Directive Still Matters

Even with a valid DNR, the advance directive serves essential functions. It names the healthcare agent who can make all other medical decisions during incapacity, not just the resuscitation question. It addresses preferences about pain management, organ donation, feeding tubes, ventilators, and facility choices.

The DNR covers one specific scenario. The advance directive covers everything else.

For families building a comprehensive plan, both documents work together. The advance directive establishes the decision-making framework and treatment preferences. The OLST/POLST translates those preferences into immediate medical orders that emergency responders and care facilities act on without delay.

The Utah Power of Attorney Kit includes the advance health care directive framework with space for treatment preferences that support a DNR conversation with your physician, along with the financial POA and HIPAA release template.

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