POLST: Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment. Why and when should you complete this form? Dr. Susan Tolle answers these important questions. She founded and has directed the Oregon Health & Science University Center for Ethics in Health Care since 1989. She has shepherded its growth into an internationally recognized ethics center with programs such as the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) program and the Oregon POLST registry. She is a practicing internist of general medicine and geriatrics at OHSU. #Portland