Vital sign charts and early warning systems: A scoping literature review

Following the implementation of the national adult early warning system (NZEWS) and maternity early warning system (MEWS) across the motu, Adapt Research, on behalf of Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission has undertaken a scoping review of recent literature in 2024 to ensure the national adult and maternity vital signs charts remain aligned to best practice. 

The literature review found that the NZEWS and MEWS performs comparably to the best-performing paper-based systems and did not find strong evidence that changes to the paper-based charts are warranted. 

However, it highlighted that the best-performing early warning systems use integrated electronic systems that can combine demographic information, vital signs and laboratory results to more accurately predict a person’s risk of deterioration.

Read the report below.