Treating deteriorating patients early is an important function of a Medical Emergency Team. But before treatment can be initiated, the correct patients must be identified. This recognition (or "afferent arm") of a MET is largely dependent on the identification of abnormal vital signs (VS). A study that reviewed over 900,000 sets of VS in an English hospital suggested that the timing of VS measurement is primarily a function of unit workflows, not necessarily patient acuity. Most VS were obtained at the beginning of the shift and few were done overnight. Patients at higher risk of deterioration and cardiopulmonary arrest still had up to 6 hours without VS, even though it was against hospital policy. Possible contributing factors may include concern for patient satisfaction and overnight sleep, and communication deficits between RNs and techs (who perform the actual measurements).

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