 Hospital Safety Score Deadline
Hospitals must submit data by August 31, 2015
 Hospitals should be aware that the Data Snapshot Date for the Fall 2015 Hospital Safety Score is August 31, 2015. 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 2015 Hospital Safety Score must complete a Leapfrog Hospital Survey by August 31. For more information, please visit our website.
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More hospitals than ever before complete the Leapfrog Hospital Survey
 Leapfrog is proud to announce that 1,538 hospitals from across the country completed a Leapfrog Hospital Survey by our June 30th deadline - toppling our record of 1,501 hospitals in 2014.
All surveys are subject to Leapfrog's intensive Desk Review process to ensure accuracy. The results will be publicly available on our website starting this Friday, July 24.
Hospitals that haven't yet submitted a 2015 Leapfrog Hospital Survey still have plenty of time to do so - and still meet the Hospital Safety Score snapshot date of August 31. Learn more about our Survey and how it benefits your staff and community today!
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Laurel Pickering to Chair Leapfrog
New chairperson elected to Leapfrog Board of Directors
The Leapfrog Group is pleased to announce the election of Laurel Pickering, President and CEO of Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH), as chair of its Board of Directors, effective this month.
"Laurel has been a longtime member of our Board of Directors and a key leader within the Leapfrog movement," said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "She has been integral in the movement toward value based purchasing, the effort by employers and other purchasers to achieve higher quality, more cost effective health care for employees."
Read the press release.
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Leapfrog releases its final report on the 2014 Leapfrog Hospital Survey
 Last year, just over 1,500 U.S. hospitals voluntarily completed the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the highest recorded participation to date. Because of their commitment to transparency, patients and purchasers have the information they need to make the best decisions for their care.
- One in five hospitals won't commit to apologizing and waiving all costs associated with a "Never Event."
- One in six hospitals have too many central line infections.
- Urban hospitals continue to outperform rural hospitals on the Leapfrog Safe Practices standard.
Download the entire series on maternity care, high-risk procedures, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), nursing, and hand-hygiene here.
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New Federal Rule for Out-of-Pocket Maximums
Employers work to avoid major financial impact
Leapfrog is joining business advocates to shed light on a federal rule with major implications for employers. In Leah Binder's recent Forbes.com piece, she talks about how embedded maximum-out-of-pocket for family plans could mean big losses for employers.
"The bottom line: employers will be out hundreds of millions of dollars because federal officials changed the rules mid-game."
Continue reading....
That blog, and a follow-up piece by Politico Magazine, has helped advocates in Washington bring much-needed attention to the problem. Stay tuned as the story develops.
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Finding the Best Surgeon Just Got Easier
Two tools are released to help consumers make the best choice
 If you or a family member needs surgery, you have two big decisions to make:
1. What's the safest hospital?
2. Who's the best surgeon?
We've got the first question covered with the Hospital Safety Score, but until now, it's been almost impossible to compare the performance of individual surgeons.
But last week, two different organizations released free, user-friendly tools that are moving us in the right direction. The Consumers' Checkbook tool identifies the top performers for 14 different surgeries, using a star ratings system. ProPublica calls out the best and worst performers in their tool for eight different procedures.
What the experts say:
"Asking whether this report card will have unintended consequences isn't the right question. The right question is - will it leave Bobby better off? I think it will." - Ashish Jha, M.D.
Check out the tools: Consumers' Checkbook and ProPublica
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Recent events, articles, and publications from and about The Leapfrog Group
In President and CEO Leah Binder's latest Forbes.com post, she profiles Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and his recent diagnosis of aggressive lymphoma. Facing this ordeal, he is poised to become a powerful advocate for the voice of patients in our ever-turbulent health care system.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Patient-In-Chief
Elizabeth Renter from Fox News features the Hospital Safety Score in her guidance to consumers on protecting themselves in the hospital.
7 ways to prevent deadly and costly hospital errors
For The Wall Street Journal, Leah Binder speaks about the real dangers of untested health IT systems in hospitals. "For us humble patients, good stewardship of [health] technology is about as mundane as life and death."
Around the Web
"As large purchasers of health services and experts in quality improvement and supplier management, corporations are uniquely positioned to drive transformation of health care in the United States." - Harvard Business Review
The Employer-Led Health Care Revolution
Vox.com covers the prevalence of central line infections--deadly, but preventable errors. Watch their short documentary "Do no harm: Some hospitals let a preventable infection kill their patients"
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The Private Exchange Forum
Free registration for Leapfrog supporters
 As a benefit of Leapfrog's ongoing partnership with the Institute for Healthcare Consumerism, we would like to extend a special invitation for free registration for their Private Exchange Forum on September 1-2, 2015. Use promo code LEAPFROGVIP to secure your free registration today. Hurry - the offer expires July 31, 2015.
Institute for Healthcare Consumerism Private Exchange Forum
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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. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Hospital Safety Score, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.
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