Download our case study: Hilo Medical Center Improves SEP-1 Compliance by 34 Percentage Points Using MEDITECH's Expanse EHR

About: Hilo Medical Center (Hilo, HI) is the leading provider on the Big Island of Hawaii. It consists of a 192-bed hospital with a Level III Trauma Center and nine outpatient clinics. HMC is located in a medically underserved area, where physician shortages hover around 35%.

Challenge: HMC has been evolving its approach to sepsis over the years. In determining areas for quality improvement, the hospital found that 85% of sepsis cases were present on arrival at the emergency department. While MEDITECH’s ED Tracker provided clinical information from the patient’s EHR, staff needed a way to more quickly identify and treat patients with sepsis.

Execution: Recognizing the need to better assess patients, hospital leaders looked to MEDITECH’s Sepsis Management Toolkit and Quality and Surveillance solution. Using the toolkit’s evidence-based and outcomes-focused implementation guide, staff aligned best practice workflows within the EHR. By refining such interventions, HMC continued to adapt its clinician workflow in the ED, making significant strides in quality improvement.

Results: Within months of implementing MEDITECH’s Quality and Surveillance solution and guidance from MEDTECH’s Sepsis Management Toolkit, HMC surpassed Hawaii’s 68% core measure compliance. Results include: 

• A significant improvement in SEP-1 compliance, from 42% to 76% (coded data). 
• Automated processes for earlier detection of potential sepsis. 
• A coordinated sepsis response among physicians and nurses.

Quote: “Sepsis has been a difficult core measure for us. Truthfully, it was driving us crazy to try to meet the ‘all or nothing’ requirements without excessive personnel cost or overtreating patients. But MEDITECH’s Surveillance is a game changer. We now have action items built into our EHR, so we can alert physicians quickly when patients meet sepsis criteria and prompt the appropriate orders and documentation.” 

Jon Martell, MD, CMO, Hilo Medical Center