February 22, 2024
The 2023 Legislature passed an MMA priority directing the Minnesota commissioner of health to assemble an advisory committee of stakeholders to study and recommend how to implement a statewide registry for Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms.
That advisory committee finalized their report and recommendations in the fall of 2023. The MMA is now pursuing legislation to implement those recommendations.
On February 22, Sen. Judy Seeberger (DFL – Afton) and Rep. John Huot (DFL – Rosemount), introduced SF 4154 and HF 4063. The legislation creates a statewide electronic registry of POLST forms available to EMS providers, emergency physicians and other appropriate providers to ensure patients’ medical treatments and end-of-life preferences are followed by all healthcare providers. Seeberger and Huot are both EMS providers.
Currently, physical paper copies of a patient’s POLST form are given to the patient before transferring. However, these copies can get damaged, misplaced, or become otherwise inaccessible. This legislation would ensure a patient’s POLST form is electronically accessible by caregivers and EMS at any time and from anywhere.
August 28, 2025
The apparent removal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director, Susan Monarez, PhD, after just weeks on the job, further imperils the work of the CDC and the health of Americans. Her removal was followed by the resignations of other senior leaders at the CDC, who have accused HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of undermining scientific recommendations for vaccines.
August 26, 2025
University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham, MD, will speak at the Empowering Physicians: A Night of Learning & Connection event on Friday, September 26, from 4 to 9 pm, at the historic Hewing Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.
August 26, 2025
America's physicians are seeing a rise in misinformation and disinformation from patients these days, and it’s impacting patient care, according to a new study from the Physicians Foundation.