Fewer than half of U.S. hospitals follow CMS’s sepsis treatment requirements, according to a recent government report.
CMS released the sepsis data on its Hospital Compare website for the first time, and it is not reassuring. The national average compliance rate for the Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Early Management Bundle was 49%.
CMS implemented the measure in July 2015 to improve hospitals’ identification and treatment of sepsis, which the agency notes kills more than 200,000 people each year. The sepsis bundle calls on hospitals to measure patients’ serum lactate levels, obtain blood cultures, and administer antibiotics within three hours after diagnosis.
The sepsis data on the Hospital Compare website is available at: https://bit.ly/2PRu1Bb.
