Our health system customers are requesting that Hiteks utilize its proprietary real-time, point of care technology to assist in the management of sepsis. Sepsis is a serious medical condition in which infection triggers widespread immune response that can be damaging to the body’s organs. Treated late, this condition is often fatal, despite heroic and costly efforts in the intensive care unit, where it is the leading cause of death. This condition often arises from what initially appears as minor infections such as urinary tract infections, skin infections and post-invasive procedures such as insertion of a vascular catheter.
One million Americans are estimated to develop severe sepsis annually with about a 50% mortality rate (Wood KA, Angus DC. Pharmacoeconomic implications of new therapies in sepsis. PharmacoEconomics. 2004;22(14):895-906). Even patients who recover have increased morbidity and mortality going forward (Yende S, Angus DC. Long-term outcomes from sepsis. Current Infectious Disease Reports. 2007 Sep;9(5):382-6). In addition to the human cost, there is an enormous cost of care generated by sepsis management. The Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality lists sepsis as the most expensive in-patient condition, costing approximately $20 billion in 2011 (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief No. 160 August 2013. National inpatient hospital costs: the most expensive conditions by payer, 2011 ).
What can be done to reduce this tremendous human and financial cost? Most efforts are focusing on early detection and intervention. A large-scale randomized trial, ProCESS for Protocolized Care for Early Septic Shock, demonstrated such a dramatic effect with early intervention that the researchers released the results immediately on March 18, 2014 before formal review and publication. This exciting information has generated enormous interest in Hiteks technology.
Hiteks proprietary Real-time NLP Solutions can identify the abnormal vital signs, lab tests and physical findings that help to make the correct diagnosis very early. Our point of care ability can alert the physician and quality management nurses to institute effective treatment immediately. It is this capability of Hiteks Real-time technology to identify and institute effective treatment that has generated so much enthusiasm in our health system clients.