Tampa General Hospital has become the first academic health system in the Southeast to adopt MeMed BV, an FDA-cleared diagnostic test that delivers results in approximately 15 minutes. Integrated directly into the hospital’s electronic health record sepsis alert workflow, the technology helps emergency care teams rapidly distinguish between bacterial and viral infections.
Sepsis represents a life-threatening clinical emergency triggered by the body’s extreme response to infection. Clinicians have long faced a fundamental diagnostic challenge: early physiological signs of sepsis frequently overlap with many other conditions. Tampa General Hospital’s integration of host-response technology directly into live clinical workflows offers a structural shift in how emergency medicine teams triage acute infection alerts.
In Plain English: The Clinical Takeaway
- Host-Response Testing: Instead of searching directly for a pathogen, the test reads how the patient’s immune system is reacting to determine whether an infection is bacterial or viral.
- Antibiotic Stewardship: By clarifying infection etiology within 15 minutes, clinicians can safely reduce unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotic usage.
- Workflow Integration: The diagnostic tool operates inside existing electronic health record systems, meaning emergency teams receive actionable data at the exact point of a sepsis alert without altering their established triage protocols.
Clinical Trials and Operational Impact
The clinical implementation at Tampa General Hospital builds directly upon extensive research conducted alongside USF Health physicians. Between September 2024 and October 2025, the institution evaluated 893 adult emergency department patients, making it the largest sepsis study to date utilizing host immune-response technology. Researchers assessed how embedding MeMed BV into existing emergency department sepsis alert protocols altered clinical decision-making regarding patient triage, antimicrobial administration, and admission rates.
The findings, presented at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting in May 2026 and the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine meeting in July 2026, demonstrated substantial operational and therapeutic improvements. With the integration of MeMed BV, clinicians successfully reclassified 26% more patients as unlikely to have sepsis. Furthermore, exposure to cefepime—a powerful antibiotic—dropped by 33%, and overall hospital admissions for patients triggering a sepsis alert decreased by 13%. Preliminary cost-benefit analysis associated with the trial estimated approximately $179,000 in savings per 100 patients, driven primarily by decreased admissions and decreased length of stay.
“Sepsis requires us to move quickly, but speed alone isn’t enough. Our teams also need the most precise information possible to make the right decision for each patient,” said Michele Moran, MBA, MSN, RN, senior vice president of the Emergency Services Institute at Tampa General Hospital, emphasizing the institution’s sustained commitment to upgrading acute care pathways.
| Metric Assessed | Observed Change | Clinical Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Patient Reclassification | +26% | More patients accurately identified as unlikely to have sepsis. |
| Cefepime Exposure | -33% | Reduced utilization of broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics. |
| Hospital Admissions | -13% | Fewer unnecessary inpatient bed days for acute sepsis alerts. |
| Estimated Cost Savings | $179,000 per 100 patients | Derived from decreased admissions and reduced length of stay. |
Translating Research into Live Clinical Practice
The path from clinical trial recruitment to active deployment underscores the unique mission of academic medical centers. Jason Wilson, MD, PhD, FACEP, chair of USF Emergency Medicine and chief of emergency medicine, noted the diagnostic hurdles inherent in emergency departments. “Sepsis is a clinical emergency, but one of the challenges we face is that its early signs can overlap with many other conditions. At the point of a sepsis alert, we need to determine quickly whether we are dealing with a bacterial infection that requires multiple doses of intravenous antibiotics and hospitalization or whether another explanation is more likely,” Dr. Wilson explained regarding the decision point that prompted the research.
By translating trial data into an automated electronic health record trigger, Tampa General Hospital bridges the gap between laboratory innovation and bedside execution. Nationally recognized for efforts to improve early sepsis recognition, the health system’s deployment serves as a regional benchmark for southeastern healthcare networks navigating similar diagnostic bottlenecks.
Contraindications & When to Consult a Doctor
By refining diagnostic precision at the earliest moment of a clinical alert, institutions like Tampa General Hospital are establishing new standards for acute infection management across regional health networks.
References
- Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). Annual Meeting Scientific Presentations, May 2026.
- Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM). Annual Scientific Meeting Data Proceedings, July 2026.
- Tampa General Hospital and USF Health. Clinical Trial Outcomes on Host Immune-Response Technology in Emergency Departments, September 2024 – October 2025.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified physician or healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.
