November 2005 Volume 29 No.10
Rapid response teams (RRT) include on-call multidisciplinary specialists, including these caregivers shown on East ICU. From left are Greta Wiedemann, critical care nurse; faculty critical care specialist Ann Weinacker, team leader of the RRT initiative; Allen Namath, critical care fellow; and Vicki Woods, respiratory therapist.
The Stanford Hospital and Clinics (SHC) Rapid Response Team (RRT) will begin operating in November following the approval of the SHC administrative policy for the RRT by the SHC Medical Board in November.
The implementation of RRTs in US hospitals is a patient safety initiative of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement's 100,000 Lives Campaign. SHC has been planning for its RRT for six months.
The SHC RRT can be activated by nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants who provide patient care at Stanford Hospital. RRT activation does not require a physician's order or permission. (see story)
Physician web training offered as Carecast "goes live" in stages
Web-based training has begun for physicians on IDX Carecast, SHC's upgrade to IDX Lastword's order communications system and the first step toward implementing the Electronic Multidisciplinary Documentation (EMD) program.
The upgrade is scheduled to go live during December. Users may experience sign-on and screen changes, and may also see some workflow changes with patient lists and retrieving patient information. Physicians won't notice actual workflow changes until early in 2006, said Kevin Tabb, a physician and SHC's chief quality and medical information officer.
Physicians can access a Web-based training module at http://www.emd-wbt.stanfordhospital.com to learn more about Carecast, and they are encouraged to complete the module before the December "Go Live". (see story)
