Resources

Create an Adverse Event Response Team

After any adverse event, members of the response team take prompt action: they keep the atmosphere in the unit calm, they do whatever is possible to mitigate harm to the patient and prevent further harm, they curtail any undue punitive action, they review what happened, and they support the family, staff and physicians. A trained response team for adverse events demonstrates commitment to a culture of support rather than a culture of blame.

Tips

Conduct training and drills to develop an organized response for actual events.
Train enough staff members to have in-house response capability 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Have a backup group of additional responders in case the people involved in the event are on the regular response team.
Meet with the response team and those involved in the adverse event to discuss ways to improve the response process.
Remember to have the response team support even medical staff who are not employees. Invite non-employed medical staff to join the response team.

Conduct Adverse Drug Event (ADE) Drills
Adverse drug event (ADE) drills help staff to improve their ability to recognize when an ADE occurs and to respond quickly and appropriately in order to minimize harm to the patient.
Develop a Culture of Safety
In a culture of safety, people are not merely encouraged to work toward change; they take action when it is needed.
Use Expert Consultants to Guide Interventions During ADEs
When an adverse drug event occurs, a consultant with expertise about the medication involved can guide staff in providing appropriate interventions to help reduce harm to the patient.

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by Francis Marven Lee Locsin 2/14/2018 2:18:54 AM Adverse events can cause up to thousands of deaths among patients due to unexpected codes. Therefore I believe that something must be done to curtail the untoward events. Puting up a team to deliver safe care in a multifaceted and complex environment is essential. I suggest that the team must be committed to lead all healthcare providers in ensuring that early interventions are provided thereby minimizing untoward deterioration of patient conditions. Because we are transcending time, and changes in demographics occur too fast, I suggest that the primary responsibility of the team is to capacitate all staff in responding to such events without entirely depending on them. It is still best that all staff should be commissioned to maintain if not maximize the culture of safety among patients. If this is implemented properly together with all other healthcare initiatives, I believe there is promising better health care for all.

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by Cliford Kilat 2/9/2018 2:21:20 AM A core group responsible for a quick response to adverse events impacts greatly to minimizing complications and other sentinel events. This team will strengthen the quality assurance of patient safety in the hospital. However, I believe that if the purpose of this response team is to prevent the occurrence of harm after an adverse event, I suggest that training should not only be inclusive to the selected members and staff. Staff may be dependent to the core team in which skills and knowledge for prompt response are taken for granted as the wait for the core team to handle such adverse event. So, empowering everyone in the department does not only prevent or minimize the fatal complication while waiting for the team, rather it also in a way prevent the occurrence of the adverse event. Creating a response team is as effective as everyone else ready for prompt management when adverse events arise.

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by Maria Orsini 5/23/2015 8:46:24 AM We do not have an adverse response team at our VA hospital. This is something I will be presenting in a regional conference I will be giving as a good example of safety practices to promote culture of support instead of blame. Organizational culture is the pivot of everything else, the invisible architecture. As much as we care for the physical architecture, we need to care for the invisible architecture.

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by Rebecca Brooke 1/7/2013 1:46:40 PM Has anyone implemented an adverse event response team? We're looking to try it and would like some insight. Thanks!

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Create an Adverse Event Response Team