Record Status This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database. Citation Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Impact of early warning systems on patient outcomes. University of York. Effectiveness Matters. 2014 Authors' objectives NHS hospital Trusts implementing early warning systems need to be aware of the extent of evidence supporting their use in routine practice. This issue of Effectiveness Matters summarises evidence from
recent systematic reviews that assess whether early warning systems improve patient outcomes compared to standard processes of care. The bulletin has also been informed by roundtable discussions hosted by the Yorkshire and Humber AHSN Improvement Academy Authors' conclusions Many in-hospital deaths are predictable and preventable and are often associated with poor clinical monitoring on the ward.
Early warning scoring systems are widely used in hospitals to track patient deterioration and to trigger escalations in clinical monitoring and response.
National adoption of the NEWS system is advocated.
The evidence base for early warning systems is very limited but does suggest potential reductions in cardiac arrests and unplanned ICU admissions.
Substantial resources are being invested in electronic early warning systems across the NHS. Given finite budgets, monitoring of costs, resource use and impact on patient outcomes is crucial to any deployment.
Continuous training and support for ward level staff (including bank nurses) will be integral to system
implementation and to longer term maintenance. Indexing Status Subject indexing assigned by CRD MeSH Early Diagnosis; Information Systems; Monitoring, Physiologic; Safety Managements Language Published English Country of organisation England English summary An English language summary is available. Address for correspondence University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdon. Tel: +44 1094 321040 Email: crd@york.ac.uk AccessionNumber 32014001338 Date abstract record published 12/11/2014 |