Dartmouth-Hitchcock Targets a Deadly Infection

LEBANON, N.H., Dec. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Using knowledge gained from a national network, Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) has improved the outcomes of patients with sepsis by focusing on early detection and rapidly delivering care – doubling the chance of survival.

Sepsis – the leading cause of deaths in U.S. hospitals affecting nearly one million patients and costing $20 billion annually – is difficult to detect and treat. Defined as a whole-body inflammation, sepsis can mimic other diseases, progress very quickly, and set off a reaction leading to shock, organ failure and death.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock was concerned with a high mortality rate from sepsis identified through national research. The challenge: how to identify the illness, manage the condition, and save more patients. The solution: share knowledge through a new national collaborative, where data and best practices drove better outcomes.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock has long been at the forefront of using big data to study medical mysteries and determine the best outcomes for patients. The desire to improve patient outcomes led Dartmouth-Hitchcock CEO and President Dr. James N. Weinstein to become a founding member of the High Value Healthcare Collaborative (HVHC), a group of 17 health systems striving to improve the quality of care while lowering costs.

With a $27 million grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, HVHC now has 70,000 physicians, treating 70 million patients and sharing best practices and data. Sepsis was one of the targets and data collected by HVHC provided D-H with a clear vision and practical steps for improvement.

D-H created a team to focus on sepsis, says Dr. Andreas Taenzer, an anesthesiologist at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, who led the effort. Most hospitals have spent years targeting sepsis. D-H set a goal of changing outcomes within 90 days by improving the reliability of what is known as the sepsis three-hour bundle: blood tests, fluids, and broad-spectrum antibiotics within three hours.

The HVHC data showed delivering every one of those steps consistently saved a majority of the sickest patients.  Since May, D-H has consistently delivered the three-hour-sepsis bundle to more than 80 percent of patients, surpassing published results by more than twofold and matching the HVHC's highest performing hospitals.  Dartmouth-Hitchcock improved sepsis intervention dramatically and reduced patient mortality by more than 50 percent.   

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SOURCE Dartmouth-Hitchcock

Related Links

http://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org

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