Check Your Hospital's Latest Safety Report Card
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade was launched in 2012 to help increase awareness of hospital errors, injuries, accidents and infections. Since 2012, the Leapfrog Group has been assigning A, B, C, D and F letter grades to more than 2,600 acute-care hospitals nationwide, twice a year.
The score is based on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey along with national performance measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey and Health Information Technology Supplement.#BREAKING: Nine Massachusetts hospitals receive 'C' grades for safety https://t.co/TikDE1gEAC via @BosBizJournal— Lubin & Meyer PC (@LubinandMeyer) April 12, 2017
The Need to Focus on Injuries, Accidents and Infections
Often-cited industry statistics reported on the Leapfrog website drive home the need to focus on patient safety.
- Approximately 1,000 people die each day due to a preventable hospital error
- 1 in 25 patients develops an avoidable infection while in the hospital
- 1 in 4 Medicare patients will experience injury, harm or death when admitted to a hospital
- Does your hospital have a hand washing policy?
- What is the rate of infection in the blood for ICU patients?
- Does hospital have patient safety training programs?
- Number of patient falls?
According to Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog:
“Our goal was to alert consumers to the hazards involved in a hospital stay and help them choose the safest option. We also hoped to galvanize hospitals to make safety the first priority day in and day out. So far, we’ve been pleased with the increase in public awareness and hospitals’ commitment to solving this terrible problem. But we need to accelerate the pace of change, because too many people are still getting harmed or killed.”
How Did Massachusetts Hospitals Score?
A recent Boston Business Journal article digs into the safety grades of Massachusetts' 60 acute-care hospitals.
"While half of all Massachusetts hospitals received an "A" for safety from a national nonprofit healthcare ratings agency, nine hospitals in the state received barely passing grades.”You can read that article here: Nine Massachusetts hospitals receive 'C' grades for safety
How Did Your Hospital Score?
To search the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade database by hospital name, city or state, go to: http://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/
Lubin & Meyer PC - New England's Leader in Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Law. View our main website at LubinandMeyer.com
