lekoman t1_ivs5cyd wrote on November 10, 2022 at 5:10 AM

Reply to comment by xmu806 in TIFU by calling a hospital code by justrightkinda

For those of us who don’t work in hospitals: what’s the difference? I thought that “code” just meant “rapid response”?

reallybeefymaistaken t1_ivs88xs wrote on November 10, 2022 at 5:41 AM

At our hospital, a rapid response meant the floor/charge nurse and a respiratory therapist would arrive to assess the situation and determine next steps while a full code brought the calvary.

You’d call a rapid response if something seemed ‘off,’ aka increased/labored breathing, syncope, onset of acute confusion, possible stroke, etc.

You would call a code if it the person died or seemed very close to it.

When in doubt, generally a rapid response gets called first and then they decide if a code needs to be called.

TheDamnAngel t1_ivsie5m wrote on November 10, 2022 at 7:49 AM

I work on the code team for my hospital.

A rapid response is called when a patient isn’t doing well. It can be called for just about anything. Trouble breathing, chest pain, abnormal vital signs, neurological changes, etc. In my hospital, a team of critical care nurses arrives along with respiratory therapists and a doctor.

A code is called when the patient either stops breathing or goes into cardiac arrest, so it’s more serious than a rapid response. Sometimes we call a code when they are still breathing but are doing poorly enough that we need the ICU team to come intubate them (place a breathing tube). When a full blown code is called, the rapid response team and the ICU doctors show up, as well as a pharmacist with a cart full of critical medications.

Arrasor t1_ivs7yam wrote on November 10, 2022 at 5:38 AM

I guess you could say it's like urgent care vs. ER?

xmu806 t1_ivswvcq wrote on November 10, 2022 at 11:11 AM

No. A rapid response team is called when your patient is going down hill. It can be called for basically anything where your patient is becoming less stable. An ICU nurse, respiratory therapy, lab, x-ray all show up. A code is when the patient is having cardiac or respiratory failure. It includes everything from the rapid team but also a critical care doctor (who can write orders, which can be VERY important when things go south).