Premier Inc. Analysis

Hospital-Associated Sepsis Decreased by 15% from 2015-2018 - Seite 2

“While significant progress has been made, there is opportunity to reexamine protocols for patients who develop sepsis after being admitted for another medical reason, as this suggests a complication of care,” Dr. Biondolillo said. “Premier members are actively taking steps to close this gap and create best practices to reduce hospital-associated sepsis incidences and mortalities. Hospital leaders and clinicians across our membership are incredibly dedicated to providing life-saving care.”

Sepsis affects more than 1.7 million adults in America each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and accounts for more than $24 billion in total annual hospital costs. According to Premier data, 92.5 percent of those diagnosed with sepsis develop the infection in the community. Premier’s analysis found that the average cost for present-on-admission sepsis cases has remained relatively flat at around $22,000 per case, most likely due to widespread efforts around early identification and treatment.

On the other hand, Premier’s findings show that the average cost per case for hospital-associated sepsis jumped more than 20 percent from approximately $58,000 in October 2015 to just over $70,000 in September 2018. This indicates that in 2018, hospitals in aggregate were spending an additional $1.5 billion to treat patients with hospital-associated sepsis compared to just three years prior.

As the healthcare industry transitions to providing value-based care, where reimbursement is contingent upon delivering high-quality care at the lowest possible cost, hospitals and health systems are looking for additional opportunities to improve the quality of care and patient safety for preventable infections such as hospital-associated sepsis.

Based on years of performance improvement work around sepsis, Premier has identified four keys to success to reducing the incidence and severity of sepsis cases, leading to better outcomes and lower costs for healthcare organizations. These are described in-depth in the report:

1. Leverage business intelligence with robust data and analytics capabilities to create targeted care delivery efforts that support clinical efficiency and improve quality for sepsis care across service lines.

2. Utilize clinician-enabling tools that support clinical surveillance and the delivery of evidence-based care, allowing for the proactive identification of patients who are at risk for hospital-associated infections and actionable decision-making at the point of care.