Microsoft Corp. has announced the release of its Patient Safety Screening Tool (PSST), a software-based solution designed to help healthcare organizations identify potential adverse events that occur during hospitalization. The PSST features a set of indicators that provide information on potential in-hospital complications and adverse events following surgeries and medical procedures.

The first module of this platform available is the Patient Safety Screening Tool for Sepsis. Sepsis is a deadly infection that strikes an estimated 750,000 people annually in the United States alone. Microsoft’s Patient Safety Screening Tool for Sepsis is being supported and delivered by Microsoft partner Accent on Integration (AOI), a systems integrator focused on the healthcare market, with clinical direction from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

“Reducing mortality due to severe sepsis requires an organized process that guarantees the early recognition of the infection, along with the uniform and consistent application of the best evidence-based practices,” says Chris Sullivan, industry solutions director for the Microsoft U.S. Health and Life Sciences Group. “The Patient Safety Screening Tool for Sepsis can help save lives by monitoring clinical data inputs and dispatching alerts and reminders based on predefined thresholds and pattern matching to facilitate early detection and intervention.”

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is taking proactive steps against sepsis. VUMC is currently conducting a pilot project in which Microsoft's PSST for Sepsis is assisting with the early detection of the disease. The solution relies on integration with bedside medical equipment data as well as lab and registration data, so that clinical workflow items can be automated to prevent the rise of sepsis. At VUMC, all this information can be communicated to the PSST through an innovative remote patient-monitoring solution called Vigilance from Acuitec.

The Patient Safety Screening Tool is part of the Microsoft Connected Health Framework Architecture and Design Blueprint. More information on the Patient Safety Screening Tool for Sepsis is available at the Accent on Integration website at www.accentonintegration.com.