A newly minted law in Maryland requires hospitals and urgent care centers to develop evidence-based protocols and education for the early recognition and treatment of sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock. And there’s a sense of urgency to develop new programs quickly because the clinical enhancements must be implemented on or before January 1, 2025. The policy is also known as “Lochlin’s Law,” named after a child who died of sepsis after a case of influenza. Approximately 30% of patients diagnosed with severe sepsis do not survive, and in terms of average cost, sepsis outranks all others as the costliest condition treated in U.S. hospitals.
How unusual: An analysis of Experity EMR data reveals that sepsis or possible sepsis was recorded in approximately 5 out of every 1,000 urgent care visits over the last 4 years. That translates to about 75 diagnoses per year for the average urgent care center. Maryland operators are encouraged to seek evidence-based training resources to ensure compliance in time for the new year.