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

A do not resuscitate order in Utah is not a document you fill out at home and sign yourself. It is a medical order that must be signed by a physician. 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. It creates a guideline for your healthcare agent and medical team to follow when making treatment decisions.

A DNR order is an actionable medical instruction. When paramedics arrive and find a valid DNR, they follow it immediately. When they find 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 physician completes and signs the order. In Utah, this is typically done through a POLST form (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment), which 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 POLST form. A signed POLST is immediately actionable. An advance directive alone, without a physician-signed DNR or POLST, 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 decision-making hierarchy applies: spouse, then adult children, then parents, then adult siblings. The surrogate's decision must reflect what the patient would have wanted based on known values and prior statements.

Revoking a DNR

A patient with decision-making capacity can revoke a DNR at any time, verbally or in writing. Healthcare agents can also revoke the DNR if circumstances change. The physician documents the revocation and updates the medical record. EMS personnel follow the most current orders on file.

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 POLST or DNR 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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