AHRQ Innovations Exchange | Nine-Hospital Collaborative Uses Patient Screening Criteria, Fast-Track Diagnosis, and Treatment Protocols to Reduce Sepsis Mortality by More Than 50 Percent

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AHRQ Innovations Exchange | Nine-Hospital Collaborative Uses Patient Screening Criteria, Fast-Track Diagnosis, and Treatment Protocols to Reduce Sepsis Mortality by More Than 50 Percent

Nine-Hospital Collaborative Uses Patient Screening Criteria, Fast-Track Diagnosis, and Treatment Protocols to Reduce Sepsis Mortality by More Than 50 Percent

Summary The University of San Francisco’s Integrated Nurse Leadership Program ran a 22-month collaborative involving 9 hospitals that focused on reducing deaths from sepsis. Although implementation specifics varied across hospitals, participants generally adopted four common approaches, including sepsis screening of all patients, a fast-track workup to confirm the diagnosis, initiatives to promote adherence to protocols that call for prompt initiation of appropriate treatment, and ongoing monitoring. Participating hospitals reduced mortality among sepsis patents during the study period by 44 percent, 1-year poststudy mortality decreased by 54.5 percent, and the initiative has generated a positive return on investment. Evidence Rating (What is this?) Moderate: The evidence consists of pre- and post-implementation comparisons of sepsis mortality rates in participating hospitals and an estimate of the return on investment (ROI) generated by the program.

Developing Organizations

University of California, San Francisco
The nine San Francisco Bay area hospitals participating in the collaborative included Alameda County Medical Center, Contra Costa County Medical Center, El Camino Hospital, Kaiser Fremont, Kaiser Hayward, St. Rose Hospital, San Francisco General Hospital, San Mateo Medical Center, and Sequoia Hospital.

Date First Implemented

2008
December