Newswise — BOSTON – All four hospitals in the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) system have been recognized for their commitments to patient safety with “A” grades in The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2015 Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from preventable medical errors, injuries and infections. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Milton, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Needham and Beth Israel Hospital–Plymouth are among only 31 percent of general hospitals in the United States to receive the honor.
An “A” grade is one of the most significant honors a hospital can achieve and one of the most important indicators of patient safety. The Hospital Safety Score is compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, nonprofit hospital safety watchdog. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Score is designed to give consumers information they can use to ensure the highest level of safety during a hospital visit.
“Patients and their families need and deserve access to clear, data-driven information about hospital safety so they can make informed decisions about their care,” said Ken Sands, MD, MPH, Chief Quality Officer and Senior Vice President of Health Care Quality at BIDMC. “Across our network, we are deeply proud of our commitment to quality care and patient safety and honored to again receive this national recognition of our leadership in this area.”
BIDMC has also been named a “Straight A’s” hospital, among only 5 percent of hospitals surveyed nationwide that have never received a grade lower than an A from the Hospital Safety Score since the Score first launched in 2012.
“Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is one of only 133 hospitals in the country to have achieved ‘Straight A’s’ from the Hospital Safety Score since 2012,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. “I commend you for your never-ending quest to put your patients first, and urge your continued vigilance in keeping your patients safe.”
Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single A, B, C, D, or F score that reflects a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 general hospitals in the United States were assigned scores in October 2015.
The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, offering a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades on the website. Now, for the first time, patients can also review a hospital’s past safety performance alongside its current grade, allowing them to determine which local hospitals have the best track record in patient safety and which have demonstrated consistent improvement.
To see the full scores and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.
About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School and consistently ranks as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding.
BIDMC is in the community with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, Anna Jaques Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Lawrence General Hospital, Signature Healthcare, Beth Israel Deaconess HealthCare, Community Care Alliance and Atrius Health. BIDMC is also clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and The Jackson Laboratory. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org.
About The Leapfrog Group
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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