Implementing change in health services: the case of rapid response systems

Abstract

Rapid response systems (RRSs) have been introduced in hospitals to prevent delays in medical management of care for patients whose clinical status deteriorates unexpectedly. An RRS consists of three limbs and its implementation affects the entire hospital organisation. This paper aims to provide insights into the approaches used by Dutch hospitals for RRS implementation and the factors influencing the approaches chosen. Starting from a conceptual framework emphasising the importance of the process, content and context for innovation implementation, our qualitative study shows the breadth of approaches used in practice. In-depth insights into the implementation process, content and context ? as well as the relationships between them ? extend existing theory on RRS implementation and will help hospitals tailor their implementation approach to organisational characteristics.