From a News Release:
Washington, D.C. – The Leapfrog Group today announced new grades for the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, the first and only national health care rating focused on errors, accidents and infections. The program has been assigning A, B, C, D and F letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the U.S. since 2012. Over that time there have been significant strides in improving patient safety, such as a 21 percent decline in hospital acquired conditions, increased adoption and improved functionality of computerized physician order entry systems, and millions of averted patient harms.
Nonetheless, problems with safety persist, with more than 1,000 people a day estimated to die from preventable errors, making this the third leading cause of death in America.
“When we launched the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade in 2012, 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,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog. ”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.”
I quickly searched on the leapfrog website to see how Montgomery, Alabama area hospitals fared.
No such luck!
Except for one, the hospitals "declined" to participate, earning this notice:
Declined to Respond to the Leapfrog Hospital Survey
This hospital was asked to demonstrate its commitment to transparency by participating in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Disappointingly, the hospital chose not to do so and is withholding critical information on quality and safety from its patients. We encourage consumers to contact the hospital and ask them to provide this information so that they have the resources needed to choose the best hospital for them and their families.
This hospital was asked to demonstrate its commitment to transparency by participating in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Disappointingly, the hospital chose not to do so and is withholding critical information on quality and safety from its patients. We encourage consumers to contact the hospital and ask them to provide this information so that they have the resources needed to choose the best hospital for them and their families.
The exception? Vaughan Medical Center in Selma.
I give them credit for at least participating.
Search for your area hospitals HERE.
If an organization called "Leapfrog" asked me for this type of information, I might also decline to participate.
ReplyDeleteMy local hospital in Frederick MD also "declined to respond."
ReplyDelete