Automatic notification and infectious diseases consultation for patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia

Observational studies suggest that Infectious Diseases (ID) consultation is associated with improved outcomes for patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB), but few studies have sought to standardize timely ID consultation through automatic notification by the Microbiology laboratory. In this 3-year quasi-experimental evaluation, introduction of this change resulted in increased ID consultation for SAB (70% versus 100%, P < 0.001) and decreased time to consultation (14.5 versus 4 h, P < 0.0001). Adherence to Quality of Care Indicators (QCIs) increased (45% versus 87%, P < 0.0002), transfer to intensive care unit decreased (38% versus 16%, P = 0.03), while decrease in 30-day readmission or death did not reach statistical significance (33% versus 27%, P = 0.5). Automatic notification and ID consultation for patients with SAB are a feasible system for ensuring improved adherence to established QCIs.