To be effective, a screening tool should meet a number of important criteria [12]. It must cause little or no patient morbidity, be affordable and easily available, identify the conditions for which treatment exists and be more effective when applied early in the disease course [13]. Sepsis is a prime example of a disease in which a screening tool could significantly impact ED management. The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of an electronic alert system in detecting severe sepsis or septic shock in (ED) patients.