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The Leapfrog Group announced this week that BWH has been named to its list of top hospitals for the sixth consecutive year. The annual list, which highlights 65 U.S. hospitals that deliver the highest quality of care, is part of a national public comparison program of key hospital indicators. The measures of patient safety and quality include mortality rates for certain common procedures, hospital-acquired infection rates, the rate of adoption of key safety practices and several measures of efficiency such as length-of-stay and readmissions.
“This honor is a testament to the efforts of staff and employees throughout BWH,” said Michael Gustafson, MD, MBA, senior vice president of Clinical Excellence. “It reflects the tremendous commitment to our mission of providing the highest quality health care to patients and their families, in the safest possible environment.”
The 2010 list is based on the results of the Leapfrog Group’s national survey that measures hospitals’ performance in crucial areas of patient safety and quality. The results are posted on a website open to patients and families, the public and employers and other purchasers of health care.
“Participating in the voluntary survey represents an enormous commitment by the institution to not only measure what they do against tough standards, but also to work for change and be transparent about it,” said Leah Binder, CEO of the Leapfrog Group.
The survey, which launched in 2001, focuses on four critical areas of patient safety:
The use of computer physician order entry (CPOE) to prevent medication errors;
Standards for performing high-risk procedures such as heart surgery;
Protocols and policies to reduce medical errors and other safe practices recommended by the National Quality Forum;
Adequate nurse and physician staffing.
Hospitals are also measured on their progress in preventing infections and other hospital-acquired conditions and adopting policies on the handling of serious medical errors.
The 1,200 hospitals that publicly report their performance via the Leapfrog Survey do so voluntarily.
The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded a decade ago to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability.