Implementation of an Automated Sepsis Screening Tool: A Cost Analysis

Background: Implementation of screening tools for sepsis has improved outcomes, but the cost impact is unknown. Objective: To determine the difference in median medical costs per comparable affected patient encounter before and after implementation of our institution's automated interruptive sepsis screening tool. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cost comparison of patient encounters in a large, freestanding pediatric emergency department (ED) before and after implementing an automated interruptive alert for sepsis screening. We identified two initial cohorts of encounters, from which we derived propensity matched comparison groups. …