MOLST & FHCDA - Professionals

MOLST and Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA)

New York’s Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) establishes the authority of a patient’s family member or close friend to make health care decisions for the patient in cases where the patient lacks decisional capacity and did not leave prior instructions or appoint a health care agent. The key provisions of the FHCDA became effective on June 1, 2010. Under FHCDA, the surrogate decision-maker would also be empowered to make decisions regarding withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment when standards and procedures set forth in the statute are met.

New! FHCDA 2994-a Subdivision 5-a and 17-a. Decisions regarding hospice care, including the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment, effective September 19, 2011!

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) revised the MOLST form (DOH-5003) in June of 2010 to make it more user-friendly and to align the form with the procedures and decision-making standards set forth in the FHCDA.

MOLST Instructions and Legal Requirements Checklists

MOLST Chart Documentation Forms

MOLST and FHCDA Educational Resources and Tools

MOLST and FHCDA Webinar Series
MOLST and FHCDA Power Points
- FHCDA and Ethics Review Committee Training - December 2010 [pps]
- Capacity Determination - October 2010 [pps]
- MOLST & FHCDA - September 2010 [pps]
MOLST EMS Training
- FHCDA EMS Briefing - November 2010 [pps]

NYS MOLST Form

DOH-5003 MOLST form
Printing the MOLST form on bright "pulsar" pink, heavy stock paper is strongly encouraged.
Astrobrights Pulsar Pink 24lb paper is available through Office Depot, Staples, Office Max, and other paper suppliers.
When EMS personnel respond to an emergency call in the community, they are trained to check whether the patient has a pink MOLST form before initiating life-sustaining treatment. They might not notice a MOLST form on plain white paper.
However, white MOLST forms and photocopies, faxes, or electronic representations of the original, signed MOLST are legal and valid.
Spanish version of the MOLST form for educational purposes ONLY.