Selecting the Right Hospital Can Reduce Your Risk of Avoidable Death by 50%, According to Analysis of Newly Updated Hospital Safety Score Grades

Findings Estimate 33,000 Lives Could Be Saved If All Hospitals Performed As Well As "A" Hospitals

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Apr 25, 2016, 09:55 ET

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Leapfrog Group announced today the Spring 2016 Hospital Safety Score update. Alongside the new grades, as part of a contract with Johns Hopkins Medicine's Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, a new report finds there's a 9% higher risk of avoidable death in B hospitals, 35% higher in C hospitals, and 50% higher in D and F hospitals, than in A hospitals.

The analysis, led by Matt Austin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality and the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine showed an estimated 206,021 avoidable deaths occur in U.S. hospitals each year. Of the 206,021 avoidable deaths occurring in all hospitals, 162,117 occur in B, C, D, and F hospitals. The analysis concluded an estimated 33,439 lives could be saved each year if all hospitals had the same performance as those receiving an A.

The April 2016 update highlights newly-added patient experience measures shown in the research to have a relationship to improved patient safety outcomes as well as two new infection measures, MRSA Bacteremia and C.difficile.

Report Highlights Include:

Of the 2,571 hospitals issued a Hospital Safety Score, 798 earned an A, 639 earned a B, 957 earned a C, 162 earned a D and 15 earned an F.
Additionally, 153 hospitals earned the "Straight A" since 2013 designation, which calls attention to hospitals who have consistently received an A grade for safety in the last three years.

For more information about the Hospital Safety Score or to view the list of state rankings, please visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org. Journalists interested in scheduling an interview should contact [email protected].

Jordan Derk, M.P.H, Johns Hopkins Medicine's Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality also assisted in the analysis. This project was funded by The Leapfrog Group.

About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care.

CONTACT:
Erica Mobley
The Leapfrog Group
202-292-6713
[email protected]

Ashley Duvall
Stern Strategy Group (on behalf of The Leapfrog Group)
908-325-3874
[email protected]

SOURCE The Leapfrog Group