News: New York mandated sepsis reporting, care protocols and it worked

The country's first, state-mandated, public reporting initiative for sepsis, implemented in 2013, has increased compliance with sepsis care bundles for patients with severe sepsis and septic shock and helped reduce mortality rates for the deadly infection, recent research shows.

The research examined 91,357 hospitalizations from 138 hospitals from April 2014 to June 2016, and was published in the Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“This study demonstrates the association between state-wide mandated public reporting of compliance with sepsis performance measures and outcomes, improving care, and decreasing mortality,” the researchers wrote.

The research has several key findings:

• Of the 91,357 sepsis patients, 81.3% were treated under a sepsis care bundle
• Compliance with the three-hour care bundle increased from 53.4% to 64.7%
• Compliance with the six-hour care bundle increased from 23.9% to 30.8%
• Risk-adjusted mortality decreased from 28.8% to 24.4%
• Increased care bundle compliance was associated with shorter length of stay

“This study … demonstrates improved care for patients with sepsis as evidenced by increased compliance with performance metrics and decreased risk-adjusted mortality over the first two years of the ongoing initiative. A state-wide initiative using regulations and non-financial incentives appears to have substantially changed care,” the researchers wrote.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from the original article published in HealthLeaders Media. To read about other recent studies related to compliance with CMS’ sepsis bundle, click here.