title: Pharmacist involvement on a rapid response team.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The effect of a pharmacist on a rapid response team (RRT) was investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study evaluated 234 patients before and 157 patients after pharmacist involvement on an RRT. The primary outcome was time to medication administration, with a goal turnaround time of less than 30 minutes. Secondary outcomes included most frequently used medications, readmissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) within 48 hours, number of rapid responses that resulted in ICU admission, length of hospital stay, and survival to hospital discharge. Additionally, pharmacist interventions were tracked in the postinterventional group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The preinterventional group screened 326 rapid response events, of which 234 were included for analysis; during the postinterventional phase, 256 rapid response events were evaluated, of which 157 were included. The primary outcome, median time to medication administration from central pharmacy, was lower in the postinterventional group compared with the preinterventional group (32.0 minutes versus 64.5 minutes,p= 0.004). ICU admission rates following rapid response were not significantly different between the two groups. Additionally, there were no significant differences between rates of medical emergency and survival to hospital discharge. The most common medications administered were metoprolol and naloxone. Pharmacists provided documentation for 90 of 157 (57%) patient cases. In the 90 cases with documentation, 18 (20% of patients) had documented pharmacist interventions, including dosing assistance for 8 cases (44% of interventions).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The addition of a pharmacist to an RRT reduced time to medication administration, helped improve medication accessibility, and helped optimize medication selection and dosing.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI joel.feih@froedtert.com.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Feih
authors.affiliation: Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Peppard
authors.affiliation: Medical Intensive Care Unit, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Katz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000639:trends*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000639:trends; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000639:trends; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000639:trends; D024382:Professional Role; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: code team; critical care; medical emergency team; pharmacist; pharmacy service; rapid response