NJ A1950

Licensed general and special hospitals in New Jersey must adopt, implement, and submit to the Department of Health evidence-based protocols for early recognition and treatment of sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock in both adult and pediatric patients.

Protocols must include processes for patient screening and early recognition, criteria for determining which patients are appropriate for sepsis treatment, specific treatment guidelines with timeframe goals, and procedures for early antibiotic delivery.

Hospitals must ensure all professional staff with direct patient care responsibilities and relevant indirect care staff (laboratory, pharmacy) receive periodic training on the sepsis protocols.

Hospitals must submit proposed protocols to the Department of Health within 120 days of the act's effective date and may resubmit updated protocols no more than once every two years unless performance concerns arise.

Hospitals must collect quality measures to evaluate adherence to their sepsis protocols and annually report data to the Department of Health for developing risk-adjusted mortality rates, with hospitals subject to audit at the department's discretion.