Respiratory-driven protocols

A respiratory driven protocol is an algorithmic medical process applied by respiratory practitioners as an extension of the physician.^[1] Respiratory-driven protocols are implemented in hospitals for treatment of people suffering from asthma, bronchiolitis, and other respiratory illness. Respiratory-driven protocols are most widely applied in intensive-care units.^[2] Respiratory practitioners are not utilized globally,^[3] so most application of respiratory practitioners as physician-extenders in this fashion is in the United States.^[4]

Respiratory practitioners applying respiratory-driven protocols was initially designed and has been since shown to reduce patient cost and improve overall patient outcomes.^[4]

Respiratory-driven protocols have been shown to decrease hospital stays and improve overall outcomes in pediatric populations requiring respiratory intervention such as mechanical ventilation.^[5]