UC San Diego Health Scores an A for Safety and Quality from Leapfrog Group

Newswise — The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that advocates quality, safety and transparency in the U.S. health care system, has named UC San Diego Health to its biannual list of hospitals with the highest safety standards in the country. UC San Diego Health hospitals in Hillcrest and La Jolla were among just 823 health care facilities nationwide to receive a grade of A for excellence in safety and quality.

“These A scores for safety and quality confirm that our efforts to provide high-quality patient care and quality improvement across the health system are serving our patients well,” said Patty Maysent, CEO UC San Diego Health. “Kudos to the multidisciplinary teams at UC San Diego Medical Center, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center and Jacobs Medical Center who have made these impressive grades possible.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

“Hospitals that earn top marks nationally in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade have achieved the highest safety standards in the country,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “That takes commitment from every member of the hospital staff.”

Slightly more than one-third of the 2,639 hospitals surveyed nationwide earned an A grade; 27 percent earned a B; 35 percent a C grade; 6 percent a D grade and less than 1 percent an F grade. In California, 25.1 percent (68 of 271) garnered the top grade.

Last month, Becker’s Hospital Review released its 2017 edition of “100 Great Hospitals in America,” which included UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest. Jacobs Medical Center opened in late-2016.

The Becker’s list cites hospitals known for innovation, quality patient care and clinical research. It is based on analyses of multiple ranking and award agencies, including U.S. News and World Report’s 2016-17 Honor Roll and specialty rankings, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services star rankings, Leapfrog grades, Truven Health Analytics, Most Wired hospitals and Magnet accreditation.

UC San Diego Health is currently ranked the No. 1 health system in San Diego and holds national rankings in eight adult medical and surgical specialties, according to U.S. News & World Report. Specialties listed in the top 50 nationally include cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, geriatrics, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and urology. Only 3 percent of the nearly 5,000 hospitals included in the analysis ranked in even one specialty.

To see UC San Diego Health’s full grade or access other information, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org