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| Leapfrog Hospital Survey | |
|---|---|
| Name | Leapfrog Hospital Survey |
| Formed | 2000 |
| Founder | Leapfrog Group |
| Type | Voluntary hospital survey |
| Purpose | Patient safety and quality measurement |
| Headquartered | Washington, D.C. |
| Region served | United States |
Leapfrog Hospital Survey is an annual voluntary assessment administered in the United States to measure hospital performance on patient safety, quality of care, and process measures. Designed and hosted by a national coalition of employers, purchasers, and patient safety advocates, the Survey collects standardized data on hospital practices to inform employer purchasing, insurer networks, and public reporting. It is used by healthcare stakeholders including private purchasers, federal agencies, state health departments, and nonprofit organizations to benchmark hospitals and promote transparency.
The Survey was created to translate evidence-based patient safety interventions into actionable measures that employers and purchasers could use when selecting hospitals. It aggregates data on intensive care practices, surgical safety, medication reconciliation, computerized provider order entry, and infection control to generate hospital-level summaries. Major users include Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, state Department of Health and Human Services, large private employers such as Walmart, General Electric, and purchaser coalitions like Pacific Business Group on Health. The Survey’s outputs have been cited by advocacy groups including Consumer Reports, American Hospital Association, and National Quality Forum.
The initiative originated in the early 2000s when purchaser groups and safety advocates, including The Leapfrog Group, sought to reduce preventable harm highlighted by studies from Institute of Medicine and reports such as To Err Is Human. Early development involved collaborations with academic centers like Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard School of Public Health, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Over time methodologies were refined with input from standards bodies including National Quality Forum and technology partners from Epic Systems Corporation and Cerner Corporation. The Survey has evolved through iterations incorporating measures endorsed by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and feedback from coalitions such as National Business Group on Health.
The Survey uses self-reported hospital data on structural, process, and outcome measures aligned with evidence from randomized trials and guidelines from professional societies like American College of Surgeons, American Society of Anesthesiologists, and Infectious Diseases Society of America. Key modules include the ICU safety practices, computerized provider order entry adoption, medication reconciliation protocols, and perinatal care standards influenced by American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Measures map to administrative claims datasets such as those used by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for Hospital Compare and to surveillance systems run by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for healthcare-associated infections. Methodologists from Dartmouth Institute and RAND Corporation have advised on risk adjustment and statistical methods. Data validation employs external audits and cross-checks with registries like National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and billing records from private payers such as UnitedHealth Group and Anthem, Inc..
Participation is voluntary but encouraged by purchaser networks, accreditation bodies like The Joint Commission, and insurers including Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Hospitals submit data annually and receive scores across domains; composite ratings are used by purchasers and public report platforms such as Consumer Reports and state health report cards. Scoring algorithms incorporate weighting schemes informed by expert panels from Institute for Healthcare Improvement and National Quality Forum. Participation incentives stem from value-based purchasing programs by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and contracting decisions by employer coalitions including Business Roundtable.
The Survey has been associated with adoption of practices such as computerized provider order entry, ICU staffing standards promoted by Society of Critical Care Medicine, and surgical checklists advocated by World Health Organization. Analyses by academic groups at University of Michigan and Yale School of Medicine have linked participation or higher scores to reductions in selected adverse events and healthcare-associated infections. Purchaser-driven transparency has influenced hospital investments in quality improvement programs coordinated with organizations like Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Institute of Medicine-affiliated initiatives. Its benchmarks have been used in comparative research published in journals associated with New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA.
Critiques have addressed self-reporting bias, measurement validity, and unintended incentives. Scholars from University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University School of Medicine, and Columbia University have questioned reliability when hospitals self-report without uniform external audit. Industry groups like American Hospital Association have raised concerns about administrative burden and potential misinterpretation by consumers. Debates have occurred over risk adjustment methods similar to controversies involving Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program and public reporting initiatives like Hospital Compare. Legal scholars and policy analysts connected with Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation have debated implications for market competition and access.
The Survey’s measures and approach have informed federal and state policy, influencing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services quality programs, state hospital reporting mandates in states like California and Massachusetts, and purchasing strategies of large employers and coalitions such as Pacific Business Group on Health and National Business Group on Health. Research and advocacy tied to the Survey have been referenced in congressional hearings involving Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and policy proposals from Office of Management and Budget. The Survey has contributed to broader quality measurement ecosystems linked to entities such as Accountable Care Organizations and payment reforms under the Affordable Care Act.
Category:Healthcare quality