Hello Dr. Townsend and all, Is anyone else participating in NSQIP? It is the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Project (NSQIP). In summary, it is reporting on 30 day outcomes post surgically. The charts are reviewed (using NSQIP guidelines) for any postoperative occurrence including but not limited to Sepsis, and Surgical Site Infections (SSI). My coworker is doing the abstraction and reporting on NSQIP while I am doing abstraction on the CMS Sep-1 measure. I was looking at the NSQIP guidelines that define criteria for sepsis and notice how it is not the same as CMS (sirs plus a source). NSQIP defines sepsis with 2 SIRS out of 5 (all the same except additionally include anion gap acidosis) but also must include documentation of a positive blood culture or documentation of purulent discharge from the site. I believe part of the rationale for Sep-1 is to improve documentation and coding of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. I am wondering how to educate across our institution to both Medicine and Surgery Departments on the definition/criteria for sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock when they are different. How do we align these two national reporting projects?
Thanks for any feedback, Jennifer Jennifer Halligan, RN Quality Review Nurse San Joaquin General Hospital Tel: 209-468-7471 Fax: 209-468-7011
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