Electronic medical records (EMR) can be used in real time to automatically alert physicians when patients are at a high risk for death, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Medicine.

The system uses an algorithm that assesses patients’ EMR data in real time to look for at least two of the four systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria, which includes sepsis. Additionally, the algorithm looks for a minimum of one of 14 acute organ dysfunction (OD) parameters. If a patient meets these criteria, it will send an alert to the physician to warn of possible clinical decline of the patient.

The system was implemented across 24 Banner Health hospitals, and the study, led by Dr. Hargobind Khurana of Banner Health System, demonstrated the facilities’ experience using the system over a span of 1.5 years involving more than 300,000 patients.
Results showed that the alert identified a small group of patients, one in five, that were responsible for the majority of hospital deaths. Also, the patients who triggered the alert had a significantly higher chance of dying in that hospital stay when compared to patients who did not trigger the alarm.

Through the use of the alert system, sepsis mortality rate in Banner’s ICU was found to be between 15 and 17 percent, while national sepsis mortality rate is 25 to 50 percent, depending on the severity of the infection.

“This study highlights our experience in using EMR to successfully identify patients with potential for clinical deterioration,” said Khurana, in a statement. “We believe this approach, applied consistently across our hospitals, is one of the reasons why our sepsis mortality rate is much better than what is expected nationally.”

“Predictive analytics used in a systematic manner are no longer just inert computerized algorithms, but are invaluable tools in the hands of an organized health care system that has learned how to apply them consistently,” he said.

Sepsis, bacteria and toxins that accumulate to become an infection in the body, can cause major organ failure and death, and constitutes the nation’s tenth killer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annually, more than 34,000 Americans die of sepsis.

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