Standardised sepsis care leads to US award
Standardising the care of patients with sepsis has reduced mortality at a US hospital.
A pharmacist-led multidisciplinary team at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St
Louis, Missouri, developed a standardised care pathway for the rapid
diagnosis and treatment of patients with sepsis. This included appropriate
antimicrobial therapy, early restoration of proper blood flow and education
of health care staff. The new protocol was incorporated into the electronic
prescribing system at the hospital and lead to reductions in 28-day mortality,
length of stay and hospital costs.
The team was presented with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Research and Education Foundation 2007 award for excellence in medication-use
safety at the ASHP midyear clinical meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, last
week. The prize was $50,000, to be used to promote medication safety.
The award is sponsored by the Cardinal Health Foundation.
The first runner up was the Community Health Network in Indianapolis,
which developed a programme to improve medicines reconciliation. The
second runner up was Mercy Health Centre in Oklahoma City, for implementing
a falls prevention plan using a medicine-related risk score developed
by the pharmacy. One year after implementation, fall-related injuries
decreased by 32 per cent. The runners up were each awarded $10,000.
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