Case Study: Avera Health reduces sepsis mortality with MEDITECH EHR

Avera Health Reduces Sepsis Mortality with Help from MEDITECH's EHR

Avera Health, an integrated health system with 35 hospitals across the Upper Midwest, needed a better way to reduce inconsistent sepsis screening and treatment across its facilities. Working with MEDITECH and its EHR platform, the organization identified sepsis as its top care-improvement opportunity and set out to standardize care system-wide while improving patient outcomes.

MEDITECH helped Avera Health implement nurse-driven sepsis screening, evidence-based physician order sets, and an EMR sepsis panel to support early recognition, immediate intervention, and ongoing monitoring. The results were significant: sepsis mortality dropped by 45% overall, including a decrease from 14.46% to 10.18% in one measured period, screening rates at the flagship hospital rose from 40% to nearly 100%, and Avera also realized about $10 million in cost savings along with lower readmission rates.

Avera Health

Jennifer Mckey

Medical Director, Medical Information Officer