Implementation of a Rapid Response Team: A Success Story

The planning, implementation, and evaluation process of a successful rapid response team.

Hospitals throughout the United States have been implementing rapid response teams (RRTs), also referred to as medical emergency teams. In 1995, Lee et al¹ published one of the first descriptions of the outcomes of using an RRT. In 1999, Goldhill et al² reported that implementation of an RRT was associated with a 26% reduction in cardiac arrests before patients were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU). In 2000, Bristow et al³ compared 1 hospital that had an RRT with 2 other hospitals that had conventional cardiac arrest teams. In that study, the hospital with the RRT had fewer unanticipated ICU admissions and a lower death rate for patients who did not have “do not resuscitate” orders than did the other hospitals. In 2002, Buist et al⁴ reported that implementation of an RRT was...