You Can Only Improve What You Measure: The Importance of the Rapid Response Team in Improving Patient Care

Sudden death among hospitalized patients, most often manifesting as in-hospital cardiac arrest, is a global problem that poses major challenges for prediction, timely diagnosis, and expeditious treatment. Incidence and outcomes vary considerably across health systems but remain sobering. Hospitalized patients with acute illness are vulnerable to intercurrent events that can precipitate rapid deterioration. Caring for these patients requires advanced competencies, such as airway management, treatment of arrhythmias, and hemodynamic support, all of which are challenging to acquire and maintain across ...