A new analysis shows that early use of rapid testing for bloodstream infections reduces sepsis progression and healthcare expenses.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Life-Saving Potential: Early use of fast identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing could prevent 36,200 deaths and 84,400 sepsis cases annually in the United States.
- Significant Cost Savings: Implementing rapid diagnostics early in the care pathway could generate approximately $3 billion in annual savings for the US healthcare system.
- Reduced Clinical Deterioration: Access to actionable diagnostic results in less than 30 hours can reduce the number of reported sepsis cases by an average of more than 20% across G7 countries.
Early deployment of fast identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (ID/AST) for patients with bloodstream infections could save thousands of lives and reduce healthcare costs, according to a multi-country health economic analysis from bioMérieux.
The analysis, conducted by the Office of Health Economics (OHE), provides evidence that using fast diagnostics early in the care pathway can prevent patients from deteriorating into sepsis. The study examined healthcare systems in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
“Every year, over 884,000 Americans are hospitalized with bloodstream infections. Our analysis shows that early diagnostics could prevent 84,400 from deteriorating into sepsis and save 36,200 lives,” said John Osiecki, PhD, vice president, medical affairs, North America, bioMérieux, in a news release. “These findings support the priorities laid out in US sepsis and antimicrobial stewardship policies, and they demand action.”
Addressing Unmet Needs in Sepsis Management
Sepsis is associated with at least 350,000 adult deaths or discharges to hospice each year in the United States, contributing to more than one-third of all hospital deaths. While the initial hours of management are critical for survival, conventional diagnostic methods typically take two to three days to deliver results.
According to the analysis, nearly one in five patients with bloodstream infections receive inappropriate initial treatment due to these delays, which increases the risk of clinical deterioration and drives higher costs for healthcare systems.
The OHE model-based evaluation utilized real-world hospital data to determine the impact of systematic fast ID/AST use before clinical deterioration occurs. The findings remained consistent across all studied countries, suggesting that faster identification significantly improves patient outcomes by shortening the time to actionable results to less than 30 hours.
Economic Impact and Healthcare Savings
The analysis indicates that deploying fast ID/AST early in the care pathway is consistently cost-saving regardless of how a healthcare system is financed. In the United States, the technology delivers an estimated $3,400 in cost savings per patient, totaling approximately $3 billion in annual savings.
The majority of these savings—between 53% and 83%—occur during the initial hospitalization. These reductions are driven by fewer admissions to the intensive care unit, shorter hospital stays, and a decrease in the management of severe, long-term complications.
“Our health economic analysis demonstrates that these diagnostics deliver substantial value for both patients and healthcare systems, far exceeding their upfront cost,” said Sophie Vandepitte, PhD, global director market access strategy at bioMérieux, in a news release. “This provides US policymakers with a clear, evidence-based rationale to rethink how diagnostics are valued and funded.”
Alignment with National Policy
The call for expanded diagnostic access aligns with current US policy priorities. The US National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria encourages the development and use of rapid diagnostic tests, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging hospitals to strengthen sepsis programs to improve early recognition.
The findings suggest a need to update reimbursement structures and strengthen diagnostic capacity to embed fast testing early in clinical pathways, ensuring patients receive targeted treatment when it is most effective.
