Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
October 23, 2013 01:00 AM

Leapfrog Group says hospitals make little progress on preventing errors, injuries

Maureen McKinney
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Binder

    The Leapfrog Group has released its fourth round of safety scores, showing that most hospitals made scant progress in addressing preventable medical errors and injuries since the organization issued its last update in May.

    The scoring program, launched in June 2012, assigns hospitals a letter grade—A, B, C, D or F—based on publicly available safety data from the CMS' Hospital Compare, the Leapfrog Group's annual hospital survey and the American Hospital Association.

    Leapfrog, an employer-backed safety group, says the grades serve as an easy-to-use tool for patients to use when making decisions about where to seek care and as a driver to boost hospital performance.

    But the safety scoring program has drawn intense criticism from hospitals, many of which argue the grades don't fairly represent the quality of care their organizations deliver.

    This latest update assigned scores to 2,539 hospitals, up slightly from the 2,514 that received grades in the last update. Of those, 813 received an A, 661 received a B, 893 received a C, 150 received a D and 22 received an F.

    Leapfrog included two new measures in determining this latest round of grades: rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections and rates of surgical-site infections for major colon surgery, said Missy Danforth, the group's senior director of hospital ratings.

    That brings the total number of quality measures used to determine the scores to 28: 15 process and structural measures, including preoperative antibiotics; and 13 outcomes measures, such as rates of late-stage pressure ulcers and postoperative respiratory failure. Most of the data are from 2012, Leapfrog said.

    During a call with reporters, Leah Binder, Leapfrog's president and CEO, said the scores revealed “little improvement in safety overall.”

    “I have to admit my disappointment, especially because we know there have been some extraordinary efforts at improving safety,” said Binder, citing initiatives such as HHS' $1 billion Partnership for Patients. “We'll keep at it, though.”

    Still, a few hospitals—3.5% of those scored in the latest update—saw their grades jump by two or more levels since May.

    Brookwood Medical Center, Birmingham, Ala., for instance, received an A, up from a C in May. Kishwaukee Community Hospital, DeKalb, Ill., saw its grade improve from a D in May to a B in this latest update.

    “It can be done,” Binder said. “We just want more than 3.5% to do it.”

    Binder referred to a September study in the Journal of Patient Safety estimating that the number of annual deaths attributable to preventable medical harm could be as high as 440,000—far higher than the often-cited 98,000 figure from the Institute of Medicine's landmark “To Err is Human” report.

    “We are burying a population the size of Miami every year from medical errors that can be prevented,” she said.

    Leapfrog also ranked states according to their percentage of “A” grade hospitals. Maine ranked first, with 80%, or 18, of its hospitals receiving an A. New Mexico ranked last—tied with the District of Columbia—with zero hospitals in the A range.

    Jeff Dye, president of the New Mexico Hospital Association, fired back at the data, saying many of the state's hospitals have stopped participating in the Leapfrog survey because they “see it as extortion to obtain a higher score.”

    Leapfrog says it calculates scores for all general acute-care hospitals for which there are sufficient safety data, but the group has more available information for hospitals that participate in its annual survey.

    Dye said he's not concerned about New Mexico's low standing on Leapfrog's rankings, especially because state hospitals have made dramatic strides in curbing preventable infections, early elective obstetric deliveries and other safety targets through their participation in the Partnership for Patients.

    “It's worrisome that patients may use this,” Dye said of the safety grades, “but we'll have to remind them that there are many sources of information.”

    Follow Maureen McKinney on Twitter: @MHMMcKinney

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Dr. Alex Jahangir
    Q&A with Dr. Alex Jahangir of Vanderbilt Medical Center: 'It really was a big private-public partnership'
    rural-health2_i.png
    Readmissions and rural hospitals
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
      • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing