Standardized Care for Septic Patients

The sepsis committee at VMC strives to stay current on our understanding of sepsis, standardize the way we treat and care for septic patients, and remain compliant with Medicare SEP -1 Quality Metric.

To this end, we support SEP 3 definitions and the UW Medicine Sepsis Statement.

Key points from UW Sepsis Statement:

• Sepsis and septic shock represent medical emergencies.
• Sepsis is defined as “life threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection.”
• Septic shock is defined as persistent hypotension and/or significant hyperlactatemia.
• Documentation of sepsis should link the relevant organ dysfunction to the diagnosis.