Rapid Response Teams (RRT) in hospitals were designed to allow a number of specialized staff to respond to a patient in a hospital and provide the care necessary to prevent arrest. Generally, an RRT can be called by any staff member or family member who feels that the patient is deteriorating. The concept of rapid response team has been around since at least the 70’s and RRT’s have been shown to provide interventions that prevent the death of patients on regular hospital floors. RRT’s are recommended by The Institute for Healthcare Improvement as one of six interventions necessary to reduce in-hospital deaths. Unfortunately, many of these patients are transferred to the ICU, where they still end up coding.
There has been a lot of variability in studies related to the ultimate effectiveness of Rapid Response Teams. In a review of the literature by Chan et al. (2010), Rapid Response Teams were not shown to decrease overall adult hospital mortality. This opens the idea for the need for further research on RRT interventions, and whether the concept is really effective.
RRT’s are discussed as part of AHA’s ACLS course.
Reference: Chan, P., Jain, R., Nollmothu, B., Berg, R., & Sasson, C. (2010). Rapid response teams: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med, 170(1), 18-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2009.424
There has been a lot of variability in studies related to the ultimate effectiveness of Rapid Response Teams. In a review of the literature by Chan et al. (2010), Rapid Response Teams were not shown to decrease overall adult hospital mortality. This opens the idea for the need for further research on RRT interventions, and whether the concept is really effective.
RRT’s are discussed as part of AHA’s ACLS course.
Reference: Chan, P., Jain, R., Nollmothu, B., Berg, R., & Sasson, C. (2010). Rapid response teams: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med, 170(1), 18-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2009.424
