receive the same care, no matter at which MultiCare hospital they present.
Early Identification: Modified Early Warning System (MEWS)
MultiCare developed a modified early warning system (MEWS) dashboard that leveraged the cohort definition and the clinical EMR to quickly identify patients who were trending toward a sudden downturn. Hospital staff constantly monitor MEWS, which serves as an early detection tool for caregivers to provide preemptive interventions.
Efficient Delivery: Code Sepsis (“Time Is Tissue”)
The final key piece of clinical work undertaken by the Collaborative was to ensure timely implementation of the defined standard of care to patients who are more efficiently identified. That model already exists in healthcare and is known as the “code” process. Similar to other “code” processes (code trauma, code neuro, code STEMI), code sepsis at MultiCare is designed to bring together essential caregivers in order to efficiently deliver time-sensitive, life-saving treatments to the patient presenting with severe sepsis
In just 12 months, MultiCare was able to reduce septicemia mortality rates by an average of 22 percent, leading to more than $1.3 million in validated cost savings during that same period. The sepsis cost reductions and quality of care improvements have raised the expectation that similar results can be realized in other areas of MultiCare, including heart failure, emergency department performance, and inpatient throughput.
1. What do you think is the role of data warehousing in healthcare systems?
2. How did MultiCare use data warehousing to improve health outcomes?