Measuring the modified early warning score and the Rothman index: advantages of utilizing the electronic medical record in an early warning system.

ABSTRACT: Early detection of an impending cardiac or pulmonary arrest is an important focus for hospitals trying to improve quality of care. Unfortunately, all current early warning systems suffer from high false-alarm rates. Most systems are based on the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS); 4 of its 5 inputs are vital signs. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of MEWS against the Rothman Index (RI), a patient acuity score based upon summation of excess risk functions that utilize additional data from the electronic medical record (EMR). MEWS and RI scores were computed retrospectively for 32,472 patient visits. Nursing assessments, a category of EMR inputs only used by the RI, showed sharp differences 24 hours before death. Receiver operating characteristic curves for 24-hour mort

SUBMITTER: Finlay GD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4321057 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature