About
The 2025 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Annual Survey showed continued progress in implementing the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements to improve patient care.
Summary
To support sepsis-focused quality improvement in hospitals, the CDC released the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements in August 2023. Progress is tracked annually, with the 2025 web-based survey analyzed in June 2026 using data from 5,430 enrolled U.S. acute care and critical access hospitals.
The results showed nationwide improvements across 24 of the 28 sepsis program priorities compared to 2024. The most notable improvements occurred in executing structures to support prompt antimicrobial delivery, tracking the impact of sepsis tools, and providing standardized pre-discharge education. Furthermore, most hospitals maintained dedicated sepsis programs, standard screening protocols, and tailored order sets to improve patient outcomes. Opportunities remain for sepsis programs to strengthen leadership structures, improve technological support, and enhance performance feedback to front-line clinical staff.
What's New?
Improvements across U.S. hospitals
- National Sepsis Core Elements update is measured through CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Patient Safety Component Annual Hospital Survey.
- This year's survey was analyzed thematically by 28 Sepsis Program Priorities, which make up the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements Score.
- Check with your NHSN Facility Administrator to access your hospital's score.
Background
Implementing sepsis-focused quality improvement programs in hospitals has been shown to reduce patient mortality, length of stay, and healthcare costs.12 To support these efforts, the CDC released the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements in August 2023 to guide institutions in optimizing early identification and management of the condition. Progress is currently being tracked via expanded questions on the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Patient Safety Component Annual Hospital Survey, with the 2025 results reflecting how hospitals implemented these core elements during the full calendar year. While prior reports have focused on specific survey questions, this summary is analyzed thematically by 28 Sepsis Program Priorities, which have been described previously (see: Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements Mapping and Scoring). These priorities mirror those used for the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements Score,3 which is now available for all hospitals enrolled in NHSN (instructions for NHSN-enrolled hospitals to see their score: (instructions for NHSN-enrolled hospitals to see their score are available at: NHSN Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements Line List Guide) to better understand their hospital's uptake of sepsis program best practices.
Methods
Survey methods are largely similar to prior reports45. NHSN-enrolled U.S. acute care hospitals were required to complete the 2025 NHSN Patient Safety Component web-based survey by March 1, 2026, which included 14 specific questions about their sepsis program practices from the previous year. Analysis was completed based on data received through May 31, 2026, using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). This activity was reviewed by CDC, deemed research not involving human subjects, and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.*
Results
As of June 1, 2026, 5,430 of the 5,571 hospitals enrolled in the NHSN Patient Safety Component had completed the survey and were included in the analysis (97% completion rate).
Improvements in uptake of 24 of the 28 sepsis program priorities were seen in 2025 compared to 2024 (Table). No decreases in uptake were seen for any single priority.
The largest absolute improvements were seen in the percentage of hospitals reporting the implementation of structures and processes to ensure prompt delivery of antimicrobials (Action 4: 72 → 76%), the percentage of hospitals assessing the use, usability, and impact of sepsis tools (Tracking 4: 38 → 42%), and percentage of hospitals providing standardized written and verbal sepsis education to patients, families, and/or caregivers prior to discharge (Education 3: 52 → 56%).
Most hospitals continued to report having a sepsis program or committee charged with monitoring/improving outcomes (Accountability 1: 80 → 82%), the implementation of standard processes to screen for sepsis on admission and throughout hospitalization (Action 1: 93 → 93%), and the use of orders sets to manage sepsis tailored to the patient population served (Action 3: 87 → 87%),
Notable opportunities for improvement include a growing but still low percentage of hospitals with a sepsis coordinator (Multiprofessional Expertise 1: 33 → 36%), and hospitals reporting having a sepsis program leadership structure with one nurse and one physician (Accountability 5: 33 → 36%). Only about one-third of hospitals reported having support from data management and analytics, information technology, and quality improvement and patient safety (Multiprofessional Expertise 4: 29 → 32%), and a similar percentage provided sepsis treatment and outcome data to nursing, physician, unit-based, and hospital leadership at routine intervals (Reporting 1: 28 → 31%).
![Infographic from CDC titled "Opportunities to Further Strengthen Sepsis Programs, 2025." The text reads, “New CDC data: When people get sepsis, 1 in 5 adults & 1 in 10 children die or go to hospice in the U.S. U.S. hospitals are using CDC's Sepsis Core Elements to improve patient outcomes.*Across U.S. hospitals, there were improvements in all 28 Sepsis Program Priorities, most notably in: Antimicrobial delivery processes, Sepsis tool optimization, Patient education. *2025 survey of 5,000+ hospitals. https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/hcp/core-elements/index.html. Opportunities to Further Strengthen Sepsis Programs, 2025. Percent of hospitals that report having: 36%: A dedicated sepsis coordinator, 36%: Support from a nurse and physician leader, 32%: Data analytics and IT support, 31%: Internal data reporting & reviews [Hospital icon] Find resources on how to optimize sepsis programs: cdc.gov/sepsis. Blue and white CDC logo on bottom left.](/sepsis/media/images/2025-NHSN-Annual-Survey-Infographic.jpg)
Conclusions
Results of the 2025 NHSN Patient Safety Component Annual Hospital Survey showed continued year-over-year improvements in the implementation and support of hospital-based sepsis programs across U.S. acute care hospitals. Notable opportunities remain to strengthen leadership structures and technological support for sepsis programs, and enhance performance feedback to front-line clinical staff. The Hospital Sepsis Core Elements are a useful tool for individual hospitals to track their uptake of best practices that ensure optimal care for patients with sepsis.
*45 C.F.R. part 46, 21C.F.R. part 56; 42 U.S.C. Sect. 241(d); 5 U.S.C. Sect. 552a; 44 U.S.C. Sect. 3501 et seq.
Suggested citation
CDC. Hospital Sepsis Management and Practices: Findings from the 2025 NHSN Annual Survey. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/hcp/core-elements/reports-2025.html
TABLE: Percent of National Healthcare Safety Network Hospitals Reporting Uptake of Sepsis Program Priorities, 2024-2025
| Sepsis Program Priority | Description | 2024 Uptake % (n=5,337)† | 2025 Uptake % (n= 5,430)‡ | Absolute % difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership 1 | Our sepsis program leader(s) are given sufficient specified time to manage the hospital sepsis program. | 48 | 51 |
3 |
| Leadership 2 | Our sepsis program is provided sufficient resources, including data analytics and information technology support, to operate the program effectively. | 71 | 72 |
1 |
| Leadership 3 | Relevant staff from key clinical groups and support departments in our hospital have sufficient time to contribute to sepsis activities. | 61 | 62 |
1 |
| Leadership 4 | Our hospital has a senior leader (e.g., Chief Clinical Officer, Chief Medical Officer, of Chief Nursing Officer) who serves as an executive sponsor for the sepsis program. | 57 | 59 |
2 |
| Leadership 5 | Sepsis has been identified as a hospital priority by hospital leadership and this priority has been communicated to hospital staff. | 73 | 75 |
1 |
| Accountability 1 | Our hospital has a program or committee charged with monitoring/improving outcomes. | 80 | 82 |
2 |
| Accountability 2 | Our hospital has one leader or two co-leaders responsible for sepsis program or committee management and outcomes. | 75 | 77 |
1 |
| Accountability 3 | Our hospital sets ambitious but achievable goals at regular intervals and updates goals periodically to promote continuous improvement. | 65 | 67 |
2 |
| Accountability 4 | Our hospital assesses progress towards hospital sepsis goals at regular intervals and updates goals periodically (e.g., annually) to promote continual improvement. | 58 | 60 |
2 |
| Accountability 5 | Our hospital has one physician and one nurse lead or champion to ensure physician and nursing engagement in the sepsis program. | 33 | 36 |
3 |
| Expertise 1 | Our hospital has a sepsis coordinator, who oversees day-to-day implementation of sepsis program activities. | 33 | 36 |
3 |
| Expertise 2 | Clinicians and leaders from the emergency department, inpatient wards, and intensive care units are fully engaged in our hospital sepsis program activities. | 63 | 65 |
2 |
| Expertise 3 | Our hospital sepsis program includes diverse multi-disciplinary representation (e.g., antimicrobial stewardship, critical care, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, infectious diseases, nursing, other primary services [e.g., surgery, oncology, obstetrics, pediatrics], pharmacy, and social work). | 64 | 65 |
1 |
| Expertise 4 | Our hospital sepsis program has ongoing support from individuals with expertise and formal training in data management and analytics, information technology, and quality improvement and patient safety. | 29 | 32 |
3 |
| Action 1 | Our hospital has implemented a standard process to screen for sepsis on presentation and throughout hospitalization. | 93 | 93 | 0 |
| Action 2 | Our hospital has a hospital guideline or a standardized care pathway for management of sepsis. | 73 | 75 |
2 |
| Action 3 | Our hospital has order sets for the management of sepsis tailored to the patient populations served. | 87 | 87 | 0 |
| Action 4 | Our hospital has structures and processes in place to facilitate prompt delivery of antimicrobials. | 72 | 76 |
4 |
| Action 5 | Our hospital has structures and processes in place to support effective hand-offs of patients with sepsis, such as templated notes to document sepsis diagnosis and treatment information. | 58 | 60 |
2 |
| Tracking 1 | Our hospital monitors hospital sepsis epidemiology, such as number of hospitalizations with community-onset sepsis, hospital-onset sepsis and septic shock. | 51 | 54 |
3 |
| Tracking 2 | Our hospital monitors hospital sepsis management, such as time to antibiotic delivery and time from antibiotic order to antibiotic delivery. | 79 | 79 | 0 |
| Tracking 3 | Our hospital monitors sepsis outcomes, such as in-hospital mortality, length of hospitalization, and new discharge to a healthcare facility. | 73 | 74 |
1 |
| Tracking 4 | Our hospital assesses use, usability, and impact of hospital sepsis tools to inform their ongoing improvement, such as use of sepsis order sets. | 38 | 42 |
4 |
| Tracking 5 | Our hospital monitors progress towards achieving hospital goals for sepsis management and/or outcomes. | 69 | 70 |
1 |
| Reporting 1 | Our hospital reports sepsis treatment and outcome data to nursing, physician, unit-based, and hospital leadership at routine intervals (e.g., monthly or quarterly), which include: unit-level data, trends over time, and comparative or benchmarking data (e.g., comparison to other similar units or hospitals). | 28 | 31 |
3 |
| Education 1 | Our hospital provides sepsis-specific training and education in the hiring or on-boarding process for healthcare staff and trainees. | 39 | 42 |
3 |
| Education 2 | Our hospital provides annual sepsis education to clinical staff. | 65 | 65 | 0 |
| Education 3 | Our hospital provides written and verbal sepsis education to patients, families, and/or caregivers prior to discharge. | 52 | 56 |
4 |
† Data based on ACH (Acute Care Hospital) and CAH (Critical Access Hospitals) 2024 survey frozen on June 1, 2025, including 5377 hospitals completed the survey among 5524 National Healthcare Safety Network-enrolled and active hospitals (97% completion rate).
‡ Data based on ACH (Acute Care Hospital) and CAH (Critical Access Hospitals) 2025 survey frozen on June 1, 2026, including 5,430 hospitals completed the survey among 5,571 National Healthcare Safety Network-enrolled and active hospitals (97% completion rate).
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- Prescott HC, Antonelli M, Alhazzani W, Møller MH, et al. Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2026. Crit Care Med. 2026 Apr 1;54(4):725-812. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000007075. Epub 2026 Mar 23. PMID: 41869847.
- Damiani E, Donati A, Serafini G, et al. Effect of performance improvement programs on compliance with sepsis bundles and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. PLoS One. 2015 May 6;10(5):e0125827. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125827. PMID: 25946168; PMCID: PMC4422717.
- Prescott HC, Heath M, Walzl E, et al. CDC's Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements are associated with improved management and outcomes of sepsis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2026 Mar 1;212(3):537-541. doi: 10.1093/ajrccm/aamaf113. PMID: 41738107; PMCID: PMC13048602.
- CDC. Hospital Sepsis Program Findings from the 2024 National Healthcare Safety Network Annual Survey. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/media/pdfs/hospital-2024-annualsurvey-508.pdf.
- CDC. Hospital Sepsis Management and Practices: Findings from the 2023 National Healthcare Safety Network Patient Safety Component Annual Survey. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/media/ pdfs/hospital-2023-annual-survey-508-pdf.