Dive Brief:
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The Leapfrog Group released its 2017 Top Hospitals list, which includes 14 from California, 13 from Florida and 10 each from Massachusetts and New Jersey. California also led the list last year when 25 hospitals made the list.
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The list honors 109 hospitals, including 45 general hospitals, 36 teaching hospitals, 18 rural hospitals and 10 children's hospitals.
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The Leapfrog Group collects data for the award through its Hospital Survey, which measures hospitals’ performances on national standards of patient safety, quality, efficiency and management structures.
Dive Insight:
The Leapfrog Group said its ratings are “the most comprehensive picture of how patients fare at individual institutions.” Some areas featured include preventing infections, reducing C-sections, technology usage to provide safer care and leadership policies and practices, according to the group.
"The award is not given to a set number of hospitals, but rather to all urban, rural, and children's hospitals that meet the high standards defined in each year's Top Hospital Methodology," the organization said in a prepared statement.
Hospitals must meet criteria depending on classification that includes meeting Leapfrog’s standards for computerized physician order entry, ICU physician staffing and Leapfrog’s Never Events Policy. They also must report on all measures and fully meet Leapfrog’s standard on at least 50% of applicable measures.
Hospitals named to the list are rightfully trumpeting their facilities, but of course, whenever hospitals are recognized, many others aren't. Critics often question hospital rating programs whether it is The Leapfrog Group, Healthgrades, the CMS or any other group’s list. They question the methodology and which hospitals are recognized.
Ratings can affect a health system's bottom line. One example is Chicago-based nonprofit Saint Anthony Hospital, which saw its Leapfrog safety grade drop from "A" to "C" this year. The hospital, in turn, sued Leapfrog for defamation. In its suit, the hospital said receiving a "C" from The Leapfrog Group "will erase years of improvements at the hospital and irreparably degrade the public perception of the hospital."
Meanwhile, the CMS shelved its October hospitals update to make changes to its hospital star rating methodology. The American Hospital Association (AHA) and other groups spoke out on the hospital rating program with the AHA questioning the “reliability and accuracy” of the methodology to determine the ratings. Some of the top hospitals in the U.S. have received average ratings in past years, while lower profile hospitals wound up with five stars.