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Monthly Newsletter
August 2014
Leapfrog's policy agenda highlighted

 

Leapfrog is continuing to advocate for the inclusion of eight hospital acquired condition (HAC) measures, or "never events," on the CMS public data websites Hospital Compare and data.medicare.gov. These measures provide vital information about a hospital's safety record, and we believe they should be made available to patients. On August 6, the front page of USA Today featured a story on CMS' removal of these HAC measures from public reporting, quoting Leapfrog President & CEO, Leah Binder:

 

"People deserve to know if the hospital down the street from them had a disastrous event and should be able to judge for themselves whether that's a reasonable indicator of the safety of that hospital."


 

Read the full story at USA Today

Leah Binder named one of Modern Healthcare's 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare

 

Please join us in congratulating Leah Binder for earning a spot on Modern Healthcare's prestigious list of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare for the sixth year running! 

"This ranking honors individuals in healthcare who are deemed by their peers and an expert panel to be the most influential individuals in the industry in terms of leadership and impact, which we all know is an understatement of Leah's work at Leapfrog." 
- Bill Finck, Chairman of the Board, The Leapfrog Group

This year's list featured more advocates for quality than ever before, including several who have been active at Leapfrog: Jonathan Perlin, Gary Kaplan, Peter Pronovost, Susan DeVore, Bob Wachter, and Joseph Fifer. Click here to see the full list. 
Survey2014 Leapfrog Hospital Survey Results
Initial survey results now available; desk review ongoing
  

The first 2014 Leapfrog Hospital Survey results by hospital are now available at www.LeapfrogGroup.org/CP. Hospitals can continue to update their surveys or submit a new survey through the end of the calendar year. Survey results are updated monthly on the public reporting website until the Survey closes in January. 

 

Hospitals should be aware that Leapfrog's desk review process is currently ongoing. All hospital responses are intensively assessed using empirically driven quality standards. Hospitals will be notified via email from the Help Desk if one or more of their survey responses has been flagged for additional documentation or verification. Hospitals will need to follow up with supporting evidence as requested via email to the Help Desk. 

Leapfrog continues to respond to hospital requests for additional analysis

 

LHRPLeapfrog's competitive benchmarking reports utilize data submitted through the 2014 Leapfrog Hospital Survey to offer hospitals insights on how they compare nationally and regionally. Hospitals that complete a 2014 survey by August 31st will be eligible to receive a free summary report. Free reports will be mailed to all hospital CEOs in mid-September.

If your hospital wants more detailed information, choose a report that lets you compare critical aspects of your care to that at other hospitals in Leapfrog's database of over 1,400 hospitals. Excellent tools for improving quality, these special competitive reports engage board members and administrators, clinical staff and support staff, and were developed at the request of hospitals. Hospitals can pre-order reports now; reports will be available in mid-September. More information is available on our website.
SurveyUpcoming Hospital Safety Score Deadline
August 31st Snapshot Date Approaching

 

Hospitals should be aware that the Data Snapshot Date for the Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score is August 31st. On that date, Leapfrog will pull down publicly available data from all data sources used to calculate the score, including the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, CMS, and the American Hospital Association's annual survey. Hospitals that would like Leapfrog data included in the calculation of their Fall Hospital Safety Score must complete a Leapfrog Hospital Survey by August 31st. For more information, please visit our website

August 31st is also the deadline to submit a survey in order to receive a free summary Leapfrog Hospital Recognition Program competitive benchmarking report, and to be considered for the Top Hospitals award.
SurveyLeapfrog Commentary
Recent events, articles, and publications from and about The Leapfrog Group

 

Leah's latest Forbes.com blog profiles the disruptive ideas on healthcare innovation from Jonathan Bush, CEO of athenahealth.

Health Care Is "The New Oil" Says Bush-Family Entrepreneur

 

Leah also contributed to Insurance Thought Leadership with a piece detailing how Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle successfully drove a culture shift to champion transparency and patient safety.

A Hospital That Leads World on Transparency

 

Castlight Health, our partner on the 2013 Hospital Survey Report, highlighted our national maternity care data in a recent Forbes.com post preparing expectant parents for hospital delivery.

5 Things You Should Know About Having A Baby In The U.S.

SurveyUpcoming Events

 

The Economist's Health Care Forum

September 17: Boston, MA

Leah Binder will be among the speakers at The Economist's second annual Health Care Forum. The conference addresses innovation in care delivery and products, best business strategies for growth and investment prospects within the health care sector.

 

Employer Health & Benefits Congress
September 20-24: Washington, DC

Leah Binder will also be among the group of distinguished speakers at the Employer Healthcare & Benefits Congress (EHBC), one of the largest US healthcare and benefits conferences in the country focused on educating employers, agents, brokers & consultants and service providers.

 

Sepsis Heroes
September 18: New York City, NY

Sepsis Alliance is hosting its 3rd annual event celebrating champions of sepsis awareness. This year's keynote speaker is Paul Levy, former President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)  and an advocate for patient-driven care and elimination of preventable harm. 

 

Leapfrog's Annual Meeting
December 2: Arlington, VA

Save the date for Leapfrog's Annual Meeting! Topics and speakers will be announced soon. Leapfrog Top Hospital Awards will be given to the highest performing hospitals on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health benefits founded a decade ago to work for improvements in healthcare safety, quality, and affordability. Leapfrog purchaser members use hospital survey results in contracting, open enrollment with their employees and other public reporting, benefits design, and value-based purchasing programs.  The Leapfrog Hospital Survey focuses on three critical areas of patient safety and quality: how patients fare, which includes issues like mortality for common high-risk surgeries and procedures; resources used to care for patients measured by length of stay and readmission rates; and management practices that promote safety and quality, such as adopting computerized physician order entry to reduce medication errors.

 

 

View the 2014 Leapfrog Hospital Ratings and  Hospital Safety Scores now.

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