The Spring 2014 update to The Leapfrog Group's Hospital Safety Score, which grades more than 2,500 general hospitals nationwide based on their ability to prevent errors, injuries and infections, showed that hospitals are making incremental improvements, according to an article on the Insurance News website.
The data showed that nearly one-third of all hospitals have seen a 10 percent or higher improvement in performance since 2012. The majority of the gains are the result of hospitals improving their processes and safe practices — such as hand hygiene, improved staffing levels and training for nurses, and administering the correct antibiotics prior to surgery, the article said.
"The data tells us that more hospitals are working harder to create a safe environment, and that's good news for patients," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog, which administers the Hospital Safety Score.
The Spring 2014 data does reveal that some hospitals remain stagnant and continually rank as poor performers. According to the article, there are a number of hospitals with national name recognition with poor safety records, receiving Cs and Ds in the Hospital Safety Score.
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