A Brief History of Rapid Response Systems

The rapid response system (RRS) concept has matured substantially since its inception in the early 1990s when critical care physicians, primarily in Australia; Pittsburgh, PA; and the UK started asking some crucial questions regarding why and how patients on general hospital wards deteriorate and often arrest without effective intervention prior to a terminal or near-terminal event. Specifically, they asked exactly what is happening to general hospital ward patients in the minutes and hours prior to their cardiorespiratory arrests and whether we can do something to intervene and halt these deteriorations prior to arrest. This inquiry eventually led to one of the vanguards of the patient safety and quality movement: the rapid response system (RRS) intervention. RRSs establish a culture of safety focused on early recognition and response to deteriorating patients on general hospital wards. Targeted outcomes primarily focus on preventing arrest but also reduction in mortality, appropriate triage, balancing of resources, instituting appropriate end-of-life care, and many others.