The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Service (PSQIS), Clinical Excellence Division, Queensland Health is conducting market research through this RFI to ascertain interest, and an estimated cost to:
(a) Review the effectiveness of Q-ADDS in predicting adult deterioration prior to an adverse event occurring
(b) Identify and address socio-cultural factors influencing compliance with Q-ADDS.

The aim of this RFI is for Queensland Health to receive responses to assist it to determine interest in and the cost to undertake the proposed research.

Q-ADDS was developed several years ago to improve early detection and the treatment of deteriorating adult patients. Q-ADDS is a multiple parameter track and trigger observation chart where each parameter attracts individual scores which are then added to obtain a total score. The total score is used to direct the user to increasingly greater escalation actions ranging from a score of 0 indicating no action is required to a score = or > 8 which indicates an emergency is to be called. Q-ADDS is currently used in 110 of 114 Queensland Health hospitals.

The research will be a retrospective study with the aim of determining the effectiveness of the Q-ADDS scoring system to detect adult clinical deterioration. It is anticipated the markers/end points to identify clinical deterioration will include unexpected death, unplanned patient admissions to intensive care, and potentially patient transfers to an area of higher care such as a high dependency unit in the same facility, or to a higher level facility (e.g. - rural hospital to a tertiary hospital). It is also anticipated the study will encompass tertiary, secondary, rural and/or remote facilities to ensure a comprehensive analysis. This will allow the study to adequately reflect the diversity of Queensland Health’s public sector health services.