Study of an Electronic Health Record-embedded Severe Sepsis Early Warning Alert

The investigators hypothesize that implementing an electronic health record-based early warning system for severe infections (severe sepsis) will decrease the time to antibiotic order. The study will consist of an algorithm which will monitor lab values, vital signs, and nursing documentation for signs of severe sepsis. When these criteria are met, an alert will be delivered via the electronic health record to a nurse and doctor and simultaneously an alert via pager to another nurse. The investigators plan to randomize which patients will generate these alerts and analyze the data after collecting information for approximately 6 months which will be sufficient to detect a 10% difference in the two patient groups.