Despite widespread implementation of rapid response systems, they remain controversial. This study showed that delayed activation of rapid response was associated with worse morbidity and higher mortality compared to timely rapid response implementation. This work adds to recent data suggesting that rapid response improves patient safety.

Although effectiveness of rapid response teams has traditionally been measured by using rates of cardiac arrests or intensive care unit transfers, this study advocates for using the AHRQ failure to rescue metric instead. Failure to rescue rates declined in the second year after implementation of the rapid response team in concert with increased utilization of the team.

In this study, the introduction of a rapid response team (RRT) led to increased intensive care unit admissions but did not improve severity-adjusted patient outcomes. These findings add to the overall mixed results for RRT effectiveness.

This systematic review found seven different definitions of preventable harm used in the patient safety literature, but none were considered to be more valid or reliable than the others.

This article explains intensive care unit (ICU) staffing models in the context of current practice and evidence on how intensivist staffing affects patient outcomes.

Using a computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system, the investigators developed an evidence-based protocol for red cell transfusion and found that it reduced inappropriate transfusions over a 3-month test period.

This study examined the impact of medical emergency teams (METs), also known as rapid response teams (RRTs), on cardiac arrests, transfers to an intensive care unit (ICU), and deaths. The 23-hospital Australian study evaluated the availability of METs at designated hospitals and collected data prior to and during the six months following implementation. Findings suggested more calls for the emergency team but no difference in primary or secondary outcomes. However, the authors point out that even at hospitals with METs in place, inadequate utilization occurred for patients who met clinical criteria. They conclude that despite similar outcomes in both hospital groups, system-based interventions can support a focus on improved monitoring of patients and appropriate response by clinicians.