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BWH’s commitment to safety and quality secured the hospital a spot on the 2007 Leapfrog Top Hospital’s list for the third year in a row. Only 41 hospitals from across the country made the list this year as Leapfrog made the criteria of its annual Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey much more strict.
The Leapfrog Group, a consortium of more than 170 public and private health care payers, providers and purchasers gathers data from participating hospitals and issues rankings based on four safety and quality standards: Computerized Physician Order Entry; Intensive Care Unit Staffing; Evidence Based Hospital Referrals, and Quality Index based on the National Quality Forum’s (NQF) safe practices.
Leapfrog’s scores are based on ‘leap’ measures that come from hospitals’ answers to survey questions. Hospitals’ scores are displayed online ranging from an empty circle to a full circle.
BWH gained perfect scores in three of the four categories: CPOE, ICU staffing and safe practices. Less than 23 percent of Massachusetts hospitals and only 25 percent of all U.S. hospitals gained perfect scores on the NQF’s safe practices survey section.
The third Leap, or Evidence Based Hospital Referrals, this year is broken down into eight subcategories based on high-risk procedures, volumes and surgeon experience. The criteria makes it difficult for academic medical centers to achieve perfect scores.
The Leapfrog Group is a consortium of public and private health care payers, providers and purchasers that rates hospital performance based on quality and safety practices that are proven to reduce preventable medical mistakes and are endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF). Since 2001, hospitals have voluntarily submitted data on their own performance, which helps both consumers and employers make more informed decisions about their health care.