Although there is an effort to implement rapid response teams in hospitals throughout the country, new research suggests that they do not result in a reduced rate of cardiopulmonary arrests or deaths, according to a study in the December 3 issue of
JAMA.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has recommended that hospitals implement rapid response teams as one of six strategies to reduce preventable in-hospital deaths. In response, hundreds of hospitals around the country have invested significant financial and personnel resources in implementing rapid response teams.
The authors of the study examined the association between a rapid response team intervention and long-term changes in hospital-wide cardiopulmonary arrest and mortality rates. Case fatality rates after cardiopulmonary arrest were similar prior to and after the rapid response team intervention and hospital-wide mortality rates did not meaningfully change after the rapid response team intervention. "We believe that this study. . .raises critical questions about whether recommendations to disseminate rapid response teams nationally are warranted without a demonstrable mortality benefit," the authors write.
Read abstract.
