Variation in the accuracy of claims data for identifying sepsis and organ dysfunction limits their use for comparing hospitals’ sepsis rates and outcomes. Using objective clinical data may facilitate more meaningful hospital comparisons. Sepsis was defined using electronic health record–derived clinical indicators of presumed infection (blood culture draws and antibiotic administrations) and concurrent organ dysfunction (vasopressors, mechanical ventilation, doubling in creatinine, doubling in bilirubin to ≥ 2.0 mg/dL, decrease in platelets to < 100 cells/µL, or lactate ≥ 2.0 mmol/L). We compared claims for sepsis prevalence and mortality rates between both methods. Retrospective cohort study of 4.3 million adult encounters at 193 U.S. hospitals in 2013–2014.

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