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Aug 02, 2026
A person who has concerns about CPR may wonder whether a living will, health care power of attorney, or another document offers more flexibility than a do-not-resuscitate order. These planning tools can provide additional direction, but they are not interchangeable.
A DNR addresses what happens if the person’s heart stops or the person stops breathing. A living will addresses life-sustaining treatment under specified end-of-life conditions. A health care power of attorney appoints someone to make decisions when the patient cannot. A Louisiana Physician Order for Scope of Treatment, commonly called a LaPOST, can address CPR and a broader range of medical interventions through an immediately actionable medical order.
The right choice may involve more than one of these documents.
What does a DNR actually do?
A do-not-resuscitate order instructs health care professionals not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation if the patient experiences cardiac or respiratory arrest.
Depending on the circumstances, CPR can include:
- Chest compressions
- Electrical defibrillation
- Emergency medications
- Intubation or assisted ventilation
- Other measures intended to restart the heart or breathing
A DNR does not necessarily mean “do not treat.” A patient with a DNR may still receive oxygen, medication, antibiotics, hospitalization, pain management, nutrition, hydration, or other appropriate care. The DNR addresses resuscitation after cardiac or respiratory arrest, not every treatment decision that may arise before then.
That limited scope is one reason a DNR may not fully express a patient’s goals.
Is a living will an alternative to a DNR?
Not exactly. A Louisiana living will—also called a declaration concerning life-sustaining procedures—addresses a different situation.
Under Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.2, an adult may make a written declaration directing the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures if the person has a terminal and irreversible condition. The written declaration must be signed in the presence of two witnesses.
Louisiana’s statutory form contemplates a condition in which physicians determine that death will occur whether or not life-sustaining procedures are used and that the procedures would only prolong the dying process. The declaration can also address the invasive administration of nutrition and hydration.
Therefore, a living will is not merely a DNR with additional explanation. Its operation depends on the medical conditions described by Louisiana law.
For example, a living will may direct that life-sustaining treatment be withdrawn after the required terminal-and-irreversible determination. However, it may not function as an immediately available instruction to emergency personnel when the patient experiences an unexpected cardiac arrest under different circumstances.
Our article explaining advance directives for health care discusses the broader role these documents play in an estate plan.
What does a health care power of attorney provide?
A health care power of attorney, called a health care mandate in Louisiana, allows a person to appoint an agent to make medical decisions if the person cannot make or communicate those decisions personally.
Louisiana requires express authority for an agent to make health care decisions. Civil Code article 2997 identifies health care decisions—including surgery, medication, medical expenses, and nursing-home residency—as matters requiring express authority in a mandate.
A health care agent can provide flexibility because the agent can speak with physicians, review the patient’s condition, and respond to circumstances that could not have been predicted when the document was signed.
The agent may consider:
- The likelihood of recovery
- The burdens and benefits of proposed treatment
- The patient’s previously expressed wishes
- The patient’s religious or personal values
- Whether treatment is temporary or likely to become permanent
- The patient’s preferences concerning pain relief and comfort care
- The medical recommendations of the treatment team
However, a health care mandate is not necessarily an emergency medical order. Emergency personnel may have to act immediately, before an agent can be contacted or a discussion can occur. Consequently, appointing an agent may not accomplish the same immediate purpose as a DNR or LaPOST.
A health care agent also does not displace a patient who still has the capacity to make personal medical decisions.
What is a LaPOST?
The Louisiana Physician Order for Scope of Treatment is designed for a qualified patient with a serious, life-limiting, and irreversible condition.
Louisiana law describes the LaPOST as a standardized physician order that documents the patient’s wishes. According to Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1155.1, its principal features include:
- Immediately actionable physician orders
- Instructions addressing a range of life-sustaining interventions
- A standardized, readily identifiable form
- Recognition across different treatment settings
Unlike a general advance directive prepared before a medical crisis, a LaPOST translates the qualified patient’s current goals into medical orders based on the patient’s actual condition. It is completed through a conversation involving the patient or authorized representative and the treating physician.
A LaPOST may address whether CPR should be attempted. It can also address the desired scope of other medical interventions. This makes it broader than a stand-alone DNR.
Louisiana law treats the LaPOST as voluntary. It is not required for every adult, and it is not intended to be the exclusive means of documenting end-of-life choices. The law also distinguishes a LaPOST from a living-will declaration.
Who should consider a LaPOST?
A LaPOST is generally not the starting document for a young or healthy adult completing an ordinary estate plan. It is intended for qualified patients whose current medical condition makes treatment-scope decisions immediately relevant.
Someone considering a LaPOST should discuss it with the treating physician. The conversation should address the person’s diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, and goals.
Because the form creates medical orders, it should also be reviewed when:
- The patient’s condition substantially changes
- The patient moves between care settings
- The patient changes a treatment preference
- The patient’s representative changes
- The existing orders no longer reflect the patient’s goals
The law requires Louisiana’s LaPOST program to include procedures for informed consent, revocation, and periodic review. It also directs licensed emergency medical services practitioners to make a reasonable effort to detect an executed LaPOST form.
Which document provides the most flexibility?
The answer depends on what kind of flexibility the person wants.
A person who wants to appoint someone to respond to unpredictable medical circumstances may need a health care mandate.
A person who wants to state preferences about life-sustaining procedures after a terminal-and-irreversible diagnosis may need a living will.
A qualified patient who needs current, immediately actionable medical orders may want to discuss a LaPOST with a physician.
A person who specifically does not want CPR after cardiac or respiratory arrest may need a DNR order, whether separately documented or addressed through an applicable LaPOST.
These documents can complement one another. For example, a person may have:
- A health care mandate naming a trusted decision-maker
- A living will expressing end-of-life preferences
- A LaPOST or DNR prepared with a physician after the person develops a qualifying medical condition
The documents should be consistent. Conflicting instructions can create uncertainty for the agent, family, and medical team.
Written instructions and a trusted agent serve different purposes
Detailed written instructions can make a patient’s values clear. However, no document can anticipate every diagnosis, complication, or treatment option.
An agent provides judgment and flexibility. Nevertheless, an agent can only make an informed decision if the agent understands the patient’s values.
Therefore, the planning process should include a real conversation about questions such as:
- What outcomes would the patient consider unacceptable?
- Would the patient accept short-term ventilation with a meaningful chance of recovery?
- How would the patient feel about permanent dependence on life support?
- What level of cognitive or physical impairment would affect the patient’s wishes?
- Is comfort more important than extending life under certain conditions?
- What religious or personal beliefs should guide the decision?
The conversation can be as important as the document.
Make the documents accessible
A DNR, LaPOST, living will, or health care mandate cannot provide much assistance if no one knows it exists.
Copies should be available to the appropriate people, which may include:
- The health care agent
- The treating physician
- The hospital or health care facility
- A residential or nursing facility
- Close family members involved in care
The Louisiana Secretary of State maintains a Living Will Declaration Registry. When a declaration is registered, an attending physician or health care facility can request confirmation and obtain its contents. Registration does not eliminate the need to notify the physician and provide accessible copies where appropriate.
Field Law can help coordinate your health care planning
Choosing between a living will and a health care mandate—or deciding how they should work together—requires more than selecting a form online. The documents should clearly identify the agent, grant the necessary authority, and accurately express the client’s wishes.
Field Law helps clients prepare coordinated health care powers of attorney and advance health care directives. When a DNR or LaPOST may be appropriate, the client can then discuss the necessary medical order with the treating physician.
