When you were in school, you knew that not every grade was weighted the same. But in the adult world, sometimes the grade you see is the final grade. In the latest healthcare news, national hospital watchdog group, Leapfrog, has released their 2018 report card on the safety performance of Texas hospitals, and the news is good.
How are grades calculated?
To determine how safe hospitals are, Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade™ has scrutinized individual hospitals across the nation based on the criteria of lives lost and lives saved. The analytics team at Leapfrog uses several tools to reach their decision, including data gathered from Medicare and Medicaid, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Disease Control (CDC), American Hospital Association, and Leapfrog’s own survey of each hospital.
After this data covering 27 different categories is compiled, a letter grade is assigned to each hospital to show how well it is doing at keeping patients safe from harm caused by medical errors or preventable accidents. Each hospital is competing with itself and with others to score as high as possible two times each year in this safety ranking system that has grown in prestige over recent years.
How did North Texas rank?
Of the 51 North Texas hospitals examined by Leapfrog, all of them received passing grades and many of them received A’s and B’s. Interestingly, the grade given by Leapfrog that focused solely on safety record was often completely different from rankings that were given by other agencies.
In a widely publicized report, U.S. News & World Report awarded rankings to the best hospitals in Texas. Their #1 pick, Houston Methodist Hospital, also received an “A” from Leapfrog for safety score. The second place winner, UT Southwestern Medical Center, received a dismal “C” from Leapfrog for the Zale Lipshy Campus. Winner #3, Baylor University Medical Center, was given a “B” from Leapfrog for safety score.
Overall, Texas hospitals did well in the Leapfrog grading scale. “We are proud to work in coordination with some of the best hospitals in the region,” said Advance ER Director Dr. Michael Chiang. “While every facility has room for improvement, regardless of its Leapfrog grade, this ranking reflects the hard work and dedication that healthcare providers in Texas bring every day to the people we serve.”
To check the ranking of your local Texas hospital, click here.
Why rank hospitals?
Leapfrog began ranking hospitals in 2012 in an effort to raise awareness of preventable injuries and deaths that occur every day in hospitals across the nation. According to Leapfrog, hospitals that are given a “D” or an “F” grade have a 50% greater mortality risk than hospitals scoring an “A.”
What is measured?
Leapfrog looks at all areas of safety including medical errors, inpatient injuries, medication errors and infections. Hospital leadership systems are evaluated along with communication system, staffing protocol, hygiene and safety culture. Hospitals that show significant improvement in these areas and score a higher grade in the next Leapfrog survey have the potential of saving lives.
Advance ER has two convenient locations in North Dallas that are open 24/7 for emergency and emergent condition care. For more information, visit www.advanceer.com
