TRENDING MEDICAL EDUCATION TOPIC: Building a Highly Reliable Hospital for Identification & Treatment of Sepsis

What is the problem?

Sepsis remains a common, high-mortality, high-cost condition in which timely recognition and reliable delivery of evidence-based care remain challenging. Clinicians must navigate multiple overlapping definitions of sepsis, including Sepsis-3, CMS SEP-1, and the CDC Adult Sepsis Events, as well as evolving evidence regarding screening, antimicrobial timing, fluid resuscitation, vasopressors, and adjunctive therapies.

This presentation reviews major updates in the 2026 Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines. The presentation also reviews SOFA-2, contemporary sepsis surveillance, and the incorporation of SEP-1 into the FY2026 Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program. New IDSA guidelines are also incorporated. Learners should incorporate standardized, sensitive sepsis screening into routine clinical care; rapidly evaluate patients with suspected infection for organ dysfunction and shock; initiate evidence-based antimicrobials, fluids, and vasopressors according to clinical severity; reassess response using dynamic measures of perfusion rather than relying on a single static variable; and use standardized order sets, alerts, handoff tools, antimicrobial stewardship resources, and structured documentation to reduce variation and prevent missed elements of care. The goal is to make evidence-based sepsis care a reliable system rather than an intervention dependent on individual clinician memory or vigilance.

The practice gap:

Many clinicians and hospital systems still rely on inconsistent screening, confusion among competing sepsis definitions, and individual clinician memory to recognize and treat sepsis. The results are delayed recognition, variable antimicrobial timing, fixed rather than individualized fluid resuscitation, and missed elements of care, particularly at handoffs and transitions between settings. Clinicians need to apply the updated 2026 Surviving Sepsis Campaign and IDSA recommendations, SOFA-2, and current SEP-1 reporting expectations. They also need to adopt standardized screening, order sets, decision support, and documentation workflows that make evidence-based sepsis care consistent, timely, and measurable across the institution.

Proposed Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, the learners will be able to:

• Differentiate sepsis-3, CMS, SEP-1, and CDC Adult Sepsis Event definitions and apply each appropriately.
• Implement an evidence-based sepsis screening and escalation strategy, including appropriate use of NEWS/NEWS2, MEWS, SIRS, qSOFA, and assessment for organ dysfunction.
• Apply the 2026 Surviving Sepsis Campaign recommendations for antimicrobial timing, fluid resuscitation, perfusion assessment, vasopressor therapy, and corticosteroid use to patients with sepsis and septic shock.
• Utilize standardized order sets, clinical decision support, handoff tools, and documentation workflows to improve the reliability of sepsis identification and treatment across settings.

If your medical staff needs an update on sepsis, consider contacting our office to book a speaker at 714-505-4777 or info@speakersnetwork.com.

REFERENCES

https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciag438/8769592

https://journals.lww.com/ccmjournal/fulltext/10.1097/ccm.0000000000007075~surviving-sepsis-campaign-international-guidelines-for