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BWH this week was named a 2009 Leapfrog Top Hospital, a list of 45 hospitals that deliver the highest quality of care in the nation while attaining the highest levels of efficiency. This prestigious list stems from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the only national public comparison of hospitals on key issues including mortality rates for certain common procedures, infection rates, safety practices and measures of efficiency.
“This is recognition of BWH’s commitment to high quality care and our performance in delivering that care safely and efficiently,” said Michael Gustafson, MD, MBA, senior vice president for Clinical Excellence at BWH.
“This year’s class of Top Hospitals not only hits the mark in areas such as medication error prevention and preventing ICU deaths, but they also use their resources wisely, providing excellent and efficient outcomes for patients,” said Leah Binder, CEO, The Leapfrog Group. “Regardless of what happens to healthcare reform, these hospitals are the future.”
BWH was among the urban hospitals to make the list by fulfilling the following criteria:
• Fully meet Leapfrog standards for implementing computer physician order entry (CPOE) systems (that have been shown to reduce medication errors by up to 85 percent) and for passing Leapfrog’s test of their system;
• Fully meet stringent performance standards for complex, high-risk procedures such as heart bypass surgery;
• Fully meet standards for staffing the ICU, shown to reduce mortality by 40 percent or more;
• Score in the top 10 percent in the country for efficiency – scored by the Leapfrog Hospital Recognition Program incorporating quality outcomes, length of stay, readmission rates and incidence of hospital acquired conditions and infections. The efficiency standard applies to heart bypass surgery, heart angioplasty, heart attack and pneumonia patients.
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.