Costly healthcare due to scrutiny is not the problem with healthcare in the US. The problem is drug monopolies, medical (mal)practice without a license by insurance companies, and the lack of taxpayer funded healthcare-as-a-right.
We need to create an environment where someone like Terblanche feels comfortable advocating for himself without feeling like he's being a burden on the ER, and physicians don't feel like they're wasting time by investigating seemingly trivial cases. Such a situation exists because we are not pouring enough money into healthcare in this country.
The study performed by AHRQ used incorrect methodologies and datasets to extrapolate its findings.
The ED is far more accurate with a much lower error rate than the study found.
We can readily tell who has sepsis when confronted with patient appearance, vital signs, and workup.
The issue is trying to find a signal in all of this data where they have an occult condition that we are not yet observing. These folks get sick real bad and real quick and we often do miss this!
Trying to find that signal with our current medical technology is difficult but there are some immune markers that could potentially alert us. These tests are now coming online and should be prevalent within the next few years. Hopefully, more research will show whether they are helpful or not.
Sometimes, even the best tests or calculators or ML generated alerts do not measure up to physician gestalt.