Leapfrog Group Adjusts Hospital Safety Grades After Court Ruling
The Leapfrog Group has released its latest hospital safety grades, showing significant improvements in patient safety measures. This release follows a court-ordered removal of hospitals that did not voluntarily submit data, which had previously been included in the grading system. The group awarded top marks to 917 hospitals, with notable improvements in states like Connecticut, Virginia, and South Carolina. The grades are based on 22 patient safety measures, including healthcare-associated infections and medication safety. The recent changes come after a federal judge ordered the removal of grades for five Tenet Healthcare hospitals, which argued that they were unfairly penalized for not participating in Leapfrog's survey. As a result, 450 hospitals were excluded from the latest grading.