Abstract
Studies have shown, and clinicians are keenly aware, that subtle signs of deterioration can precede life-threatening events, and early identification and treatment of unstable patients may rescue them from progressing to serious instability or death.1–3 Many healthcare systems are now implementing Rapid Response Systems (RRSs) designed to provide for an immediate match between the needs of rapidly deteriorating patients with the knowledge, skills and resources to meet those needs. Whereas the detection of instability and placing the call for help represents the afferent (crisis detection) arm of the RRS, the response to the call represents the efferent arm (crisis response), and can take a variety of forms. In many hospitals and healthcare facilities, the efferent response to recognized instability is to deploy a specially trained team of professionals to immediately respond to the needs of deteriorating patients.
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Duncan, K.D., Levine, C. (2011). RRT: Nurse-Led RRSs. In: DeVita, M., Hillman, K., Bellomo, R. (eds) Textbook of Rapid Response Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-92853-1_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-92853-1_19
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