UT-MOST

The UT-MOST logo features a stopwatch symbolizing the single most critical factor in sepsis survival: time.

Every minute of delay in recognition and treatment increases the risk of organ failure and mortality. The stopwatch reflects our systemwide commitment to timely, evidence-based care.

PURPOSE

The first UT-systemwide clinical improvement project strives to improve sepsis outcomes at UT-System owned- and affiliated participating institutions by focusing on the key leading sepsis treatment standards and strong recommendations to improve sepsis outcomes.

WHY SEPSIS?

Sepsis remains one of the leading causes of mortality—and one of the most complex conditions for hospitals to manage. Despite decades of research, variation in screening, triage, and intervention timing continues to pose risk.

The UT System Quality Collaborative had been meeting for years, and through systemwide data analyses conducted by UT-HIP, a clear pattern emerged: Sepsis was a universal challenge across all UT-owned and affiliated institutions.

Leadership aligned behind a shared strategy, recognizing that:

• Sepsis is a top cause of in-hospital death nationwide
• Improvement was occurring locally, but not consistently across institutions
• System-level collaboration could accelerate learning and performance
• A unified framework would enable benchmarking, transparency, and collective problem solving

By addressing sepsis together rather than campus by campus, UT-MOST is creating a scalable model for coordinated quality improvement across a major academic health system.

STRATEGIC GOALS

AIM 1 — Build the UT-MOST Sepsis Vizient Outcomes Dashboard

• Develop a systemwide analytics environment that:
• Provides visibility into variation and improvement opportunities
• Aligns Vizient outcomes with locally validated sepsis definitions
• Supports proactive decision-making through secure, standardized reporting

AIM 2 — Establish the Unified UT-MOST Sepsis Registry

• Create a recurring, scalable registry that will:
• Integrate consistent data attributes across Epic and Cerner environments
• Standardize the Emergency Department sepsis timeline for measurement
• Enable cross-institutional benchmarking and shared learning

AIM 3 — Improve Time-to-Antibiotics for Septic Shock

• Advance evidence-based care by increasing compliance with the one-hour antibiotic guideline through:
• Mapping and optimizing Emergency Department process intervals
• Identifying and resolving bottlenecks across triage, ordering, pharmacy, and administration workflows
• Supporting rapid-cycle improvement with validated data and targeted dashboards

AIM 4 — Advance Sepsis Workflow and Operational Efficiency

• Support financial and operational improvements by:
  • Reducing delays tied to capacity, communication, and staffing constraints
  • Aligning workflows with data-driven findings from UT-MOST Listening Tours
  • Standardizing practices that reduce unnecessary utilization and Length of Stay