Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has a systemwide initiative to improve early detection of sepsis and sepsis treatment, according to a Lake County News report.
First, the system hosted a summit of care teams from 20 affiliates to discuss how to target this deadly condition. After the meeting, Sutter Health started using a checklist of sepsis symptoms that clinicians should be aware of, including the following:
- Body temperature well above or well below average
- Heart rate above 90 beats per minute
- Breathing more than 20 breaths per minute
- A probable or confirmed infection
Some Sutter hospitals also have staff wear badges displaying the signs of sepsis, according to Lake County News, and the system's EHR can alert clinicians if a patients' vital signs change.
The initiative launched last year. Since then, five Sutter affiliates have dropped their severe sepsis rates by an average of 17 percent, according to the report.