Hospital groups urge CMS to refine sepsis management measure

Four national hospital organizations, including the AHA, yesterday urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to suspend plans to implement Oct. 1 an inpatient quality reporting measure for severe sepsis and septic shock management that conflicts with the tenets of effective antimicrobial stewardship. “By encouraging the use of broad spectrum antibiotics when more targeted ones will suffice, this measure promotes the overuse of the antibiotics that are our last line of defense against drug-resistant bacteria,” the groups wrote. “…We urge you to suspend this measure and direct the measure development team to refine its specifications so that they are consistent with the tenets of antimicrobial stewardship before reintroducing it into the Inpatient Quality Reporting Program.” In addition to AHA, the letter was signed by America’s Essential Hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and Federation of American Hospitals.