Increasing Supportive Care for Patients With COVID-19-Related Respiratory Deterioration in Non-ICU Settings.

Background: Prepandemic hospital guidelines were unable to support an acute influx of patients with respiratory deterioration. New processes for general care practice were needed to facilitate patient care.

Purpose: To develop and evaluate guidelines to safely treat patients with COVID-19 respiratory deterioration in the general care setting.

Continuous Physiological Monitoring Improves Patient Outcomes.

Background: General patient acuity is increasing in the United States, with more patients having multiple comorbidities and acute-on-chronic conditions. Hospitalizations may also be complicated by serious adverse events, often unrelated to the admitting medical diagnosis. In our facility, the late detection of patient deterioration on general medical units often resulted in increased length of stay (LOS) in the ICU and poor patient outcomes.

Development of a Standardized System to Detect and Treat Early Patient Deterioration.

Background: Inpatient nurses identified the need to recognize clinical deterioration earlier, including rapid response team (RRT) activations and transfers to the intensive care unit. Surveys identified the need for better interdisciplinary communication.

Local Problem: A system was needed to detect early clinical deterioration with structured responses promoting multidisciplinary collaboration.