Matthew Wiens

BSc, PharmD, PhD

Investigator, BC Children's Hospital

I am a public health researcher with an interest in improving long term outcomes for children with sepsis. In countries like Uganda, as many children die following hospital discharge as die during the initial hospitalization. Most of these deaths occur at home, and are largely preventable. The last point of contact with the health system for most children who go on to die is during the discharge period. However, the discharge process is often not considered a critical period of the illness, and is not conducted in a way that allows for appropriate monitoring for recurrent illness. Over the past decade my research team has developed tools to allow health workers to rapidly predict which children at highest risk of dying after discharge, and also have developed our “Smart Discharges” approach to care during and after discharge. Our approach focuses on both patient counselling and education, as well a risk guided referral for appropriate post-discharge care for those most likely to benefit from this. This individualized approach ensures both affordability to the health system as well as attention to the most vulnerable.