Clinicians' use and perceptions of the pre–medical emergency team tier of one rapid response system: A mixed-methods study

Breaches of pre-medical emergency team call criteria in an Australian hospital

“…Sprogis and co-workers similarly found that 78.5% of 200 MET calls breached pre-MET criteria in the prior 24hr and that hypoxemia was a common reason for such breaches 9 Two recent studies from our hospital revealed that there were multiple barriers to interdisciplinary communication and optimal use of the pre-MET tier for clinical escalation. 26 , 27 The sub-optimal use of the pre-MET tier may explain the high frequency of pre-MET breaches in our hospital. This may be a result of delays in the initial activation of the pre-MET call, or the timeliness or effectiveness of the response.…”

“…Thus, the effect of pre-MET interventions on patient outcomes remains uncertain. 26 , 27 Finally, the study was conducted during the COVID pandemic, which may have potentially increased the proportion of patients who triggered the respiratory rate and hypoxemia triggers. However, we note that the previous study performed in 2014 also identified hypoxemia as a frequent trigger of pre-MET tier activation.…”