How Ohio Hospitals Are Tackling Sepsis

By John Commins, HealthLeaders Media

Last year Ohio’s hospitals began a campaign to reduce sepsis encounters and related deaths by 30% by 2018. Nine months into the initiative, the OHA is reporting an 8% reduction in mortality.

First impressions can be misleading.

A quick look at the numbers suggests that Ohio’s hospitals are in the midst of a fast-growing sepsis epidemic:

In 2012, the Buckeye State’s 220 hospitals reported 26,299 encounters with severe sepsis and septic shock, resulting in 6,250 deaths. In 2015, those numbers had ballooned to 38,487 reported encounters and 7,478 deaths.

Of course, the reason why sepsis numbers are rapidly rising is because reporting systems such as ICD-10 have improved the ability to accurately report the infections, especially upon admission, which is where 80% of sepsis cases are traced.

But even with the proper context, the numbers are alarming and demand a response.

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