Opinions of Nurses and Physicians on a Patient, Family, and Visitor Activated Rapid Response System in Use Across Two Hospital Settings.

Background: Early detection of deterioration of hospitalized patients with timely intervention improves outcomes in the hospital. Patients, family members, and visitors (consumers) at the patient's bedside who are familiar with the patient's condition may play a critical role in detecting early patient deterioration. The authors sought to understand clinicians' views on consumer reporting of patient deterioration through an established hospital consumer-initiated escalation-of-care system.

Could standing orders have a place? A phenomenological exploration of experienced ward-based registered nurses' views on the escalation protocol for patient deterioration.

Aims And Objectives: To explore experienced ward-based Registered Nurses' views on the potential use of standing orders, prior to the escalation protocol, for patient deterioration.

Background: Ward based nurses are required to follow set steps of the escalation protocol. The introduction of standing order policies would allow nurses to intervene earlier when deterioration was first detected.