Measures are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Rapid
Response Team.  One key measure is the number of codes per 1,000 inpatient discharges from the hospital.  It is necessary to track the total number of inpatient codes occurring each month, including codes occurring both in the ICU and out of the ICU, but excluding codes in the Emergency Department (ED).  The results can be tracked over time to assess whether the changes being made are leading to reduction in the rate of codes.

"Codes" are defined as patients requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation or intubation.

[NOTE: Codes occurring in the ED are not included in this measure because ED-only patients receive care in the ED but are not admitted to the hospital.] 

Decrease the number of codes per 1,000 inpatient discharges by 50 percent in 12 months.

Obtain the inpatient codes and inpatient discharges data from the hospital information system or other reliable sources on a monthly basis as soon as discharge and death data are available.

Caculate monthly as:

(Total number of inpatient codes) / (Total number of inpatient discharges) x 1,000