Use of the Modified Early Warning Score by Medical-Surgical Nurses to Initiate the Rapid Response Team: Impact on Patient Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrests are often preceded by several hours of physiological deterioration that may go undetected. LOCAL PROBLEM: Cardiac arrests frequently occurred on medical-surgical units without prior rapid response team intervention. METHODS: A pre/postintervention design was used to evaluate a protocol to guide the use of the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) by medical-surgical nurses to escalate the care of deteriorating adult patients. INTERVENTIONS: Following staff education, the MEWS protocol was implemented across 8 medical-surgical units. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in patients experiencing a rapid response prior to a cardiac arrest after implementing the MEWS protocol ( P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Implementing a consistent review of MEWS values allows medical-surgical nurses to initiate assistance from a rapid response team that may prevent an inpatient cardiac arrest.