The Leapfrog Group released its fall 2022 Hospital Safety Grades on Nov. 16, assigning "A" through "F" grades to nearly 3,000 general hospitals for patient safety performance.
Four things to know:
- Leapfrog releases the grades every fall and spring. The ratings are based on up to 10 quality measures compiled primarily by The Leapfrog Group. Measures include how well hospitals protect patients from preventable medical errors, accidents, injuries, and infections.
- Thirty percent of hospitals received an "A," 28 percent received a "B," 36 percent received a "C," 6 percent received a "D" and 1 percent received an "F."
- The top 10 states with the highest percentages of "A" hospitals are New Hampshire, Virginia, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
- There were no "A" hospitals in Washington, D.C., North Dakota, or Vermont
- Hospitals' patient safety performance has improved in the 10 years since the safety grades were launched, Leapfrog said in an Nov. 16 analysis. The organization found improvements for five safety metrics were tied to an estimated 16,000 lives saved over the last decade. Two "never events" — incidents of falls and trauma, and incidents of objects unintentionally left in the body after surgery — have both decreased by about 25 percent over the last ten years.
To view the state rankings for Leapfrog's fall 2022 update, click here.