Advancing Sepsis Care at a National Summit

By: Michael Holbrook, director, emergency informatics, partner, Miami Valley Emergency Specialists

This May, Premier Health’s approach to sepsis evaluation was featured at the Diagnostic Leadership Summit in Dallas. Michael B. Holbrook, MD, MBA, Emergency Medicine, and Ike Northern, MT, SM(ASCP), MS, Clinical Laboratory Director, presented the implementation of MeMed BV, a diagnostic biomarker that helps differentiate between bacterial and viral infections.

The initiative was led by Steve Burdette, MD, Infectious Disease, and April T. Anderson, MD, MPH, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, Premier Health Partners. It reflects the commitment of Premier Health as an academic health system to advance evidence-based care for patients with suspected sepsis.

Deployment across all eight emergency departments required coordinated implementation among clinical, laboratory, and operational teams to ensure consistent availability and use. This standardized, systemwide approach enabled Premier Health to effectively integrate advanced diagnostics into routine clinical workflows and demonstrate scalability across a large health system.

Early clinical impact has been significant. In a survey of emergency physicians, advanced practice providers, and residents:

• 28% reported stopping or safely withholding antibiotics based on results
• 34% reported initiating antibiotics when they otherwise might not have

These findings highlight improved diagnostic precision and more appropriate antibiotic use.

While long-term outcomes are still being evaluated, early results demonstrate the value of aligning innovation with clinical practice to improve patient care across Premier Health. 

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