This bill mandates that all general and special hospitals in New Jersey establish and implement evidence-based protocols for the early recognition and treatment of patients suffering from sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock. The protocols must be based on accepted standards of care and include specific components for both adult and pediatric patients, detailing the differences in treatment approaches. Hospitals are required to develop processes for screening and identifying patients, documenting those who should be excluded from treatment, and providing specific treatment guidelines. Additionally, hospitals must ensure that all relevant staff receive periodic training on these protocols.

Hospitals are tasked with submitting their proposed sepsis protocols to the Department of Health within 120 days of the bill's effective date and must implement them upon approval. They are allowed to revise their protocols as necessary and must resubmit them for review at least every two years, unless performance concerns arise. Furthermore, hospitals are responsible for collecting quality measures related to sepsis treatment for internal improvement and must report data to the department for developing mortality rates associated with sepsis. The Commissioner of Health is authorized to create regulations to facilitate the implementation of this act.