Sepsis Bundle (CMS SEP-1)
Sepsis bundles are time-sensitive, evidence-based care protocols — the Hour-1 Bundle and CMS SEP-1 quality measure — defining early management requirements for severe sepsis and septic shock to reduce the 270,000 annual sepsis deaths in the United States.
What is the Sepsis Bundle?
The Surviving Sepsis Campaign Hour-1 Bundle defines five time-critical interventions that should be initiated within one hour of sepsis recognition: (1) measure lactate level (repeat if initial lactate is ≥2 mmol/L), (2) obtain blood cultures before administering antibiotics, (3) administer broad-spectrum antibiotics, (4) begin rapid administration of 30 mL/kg crystalloid for hypotension or lactate ≥4 mmol/L, and (5) apply vasopressors if the patient is hypotensive during or after fluid resuscitation to maintain a mean arterial pressure ≥65 mmHg. CMS SEP-1 (Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Management Bundle) is a mandatory inpatient quality measure required for Joint Commission accreditation and CMS Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting. National SEP-1 composite compliance stands at approximately 56% — meaning nearly half of all eligible sepsis cases do not receive all required bundle elements. Sepsis accounts for over $62 billion in annual US hospital costs, and compliance with the full bundle reduces sepsis mortality by more than 25%.
Why It Matters for Healthcare Analytics
SEP-1 compliance is both a mortality-reduction imperative and a public reporting metric that affects hospital reputation and value-based contract performance. Tracking compliance at the component level — separately monitoring time-to-antibiotic, blood culture timing, and lactate measurement rates — reveals where the breakdown is occurring and which units or shifts have the lowest adherence.
How Vizier Tracks Sepsis Bundle
Upload your clinical and quality data and ask "What is our SEP-1 bundle compliance rate by component and by unit this quarter?" — Vizier calculates per-element compliance rates, identifies the weakest links in your sepsis protocol, and benchmarks performance against national averages.