When a hospital let families call for rapid-response help

Wall Street Journal, September 1, 2009

In hospitals, staffers can call on rapid-response teams if a patient takes a turn for the worse. But increasingly, families have the right to summon the rapid-response teams directly or at least to demand immediate medical attention from a senior physician if they feel a patient is in trouble and their concerns are not being met. Some hospital staff fear families who are allowed to bypass the chain of command in hospitals will push the panic button and call response teams for every minor gripe. But a study indicates that is not likely to happen.