September 18, 2007 - Forty-one U.S. hospitals have been named 2007 Leapfrog Top Hospitals, based on results from the Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey, a rating system that provides an up-to-the-minute assessment of a hospital's quality and safety.
The survey is the most complete and current assessment of hospital quality and safety available. In the 33 regions where Leapfrog targets hospitals for participation in the voluntary survey, 44 percent of the urban, general acute-care hospitals responded (representing 55 percent of the hospital beds in these areas). Data is collected from hospitals on their progress toward implementing practices in four categories:
• Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE): Do physicians enter patient prescriptions and other orders into computers linked to error prevention software?
• ICU Physician Staffing: Are intensive care units staffed by trained ICU specialists (intensivists)?
• Evidence-Based Hospital Referral (EBHR): How well do hospitals perform seven high-risk procedures and care for three high-risk neonatal conditions?
• Leapfrog Safe Practices Score (SPS): How well are hospitals progressing on the other 27 National Quality Forum-endorsed Safe Practices?
Seventy-four percent of participating hospitals have fully implemented the practices in at least one of these four safety and quality categories.
The 2007 Top Hospitals list is based on 1,285 hospitals that responded to the Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey as of Aug. 31. Top hospitals fully meet Leapfrog’s standard for ICU physician staffing (IPS) and the safe practices score (SPS) and either of the following: Two or more of the eight evidence based hospital referral areas; or, computerized physician order entry, plus one of the eight EBHR areas. Thirty-three hospitals meet these criteria. Top Children’s Hospitals fully meet the standard for IPS, SPS and the EBHR Neonatal ICU standard for high-risk and complicated newborns. Eight children's hospitals meet these criteria.
Due to significant differences in how top hospitals were identified in the 2006 and 2007 surveys, the two lists should not be compared. Since Leapfrog added new measures to the 2007 survey and made necessary modifications to the top hospitals criteria, some of last year's top hospitals do not satisfy this year’s criteria. The complete 2007 list and a detailed explanation of the top hospitals methodology and the differences between the 2006 and 2007 lists can be found at www.leapfroggroup.org/news/leapfrog_news/Top_Hospitals.
New in this year’s survey results is information about bariatric and aortic valve surgery. In addition, Leapfrog now considers surgeon experience in rating these and the other high-risk surgeries that are part of EBHR.
For more information: www.leapfroggroup.org