Emergency department abnormal vital sign "triggers" program improves time to therapy.

Background: Implementation of rapid response systems to identify deteriorating patients in the inpatient setting has demonstrated improved patient outcomes. A "trigger" system using vital sign abnormalities to initiate evaluation by physician was recently described as an effective rapid response method.

Objectives: The objective was to evaluate the effect of a triage-based trigger system on the primary outcome of time to physician evaluation and the secondary outcomes of therapeutic intervention, antibiotics, and disposition in emergency department (ED) patients.