Sixty-five hospitals recognized for best performance in patient safety and quality for 2010 – an award that hinges heavily on IT use – were announced Wednesday by watchdog organization The Leapfrog Group.

Officials made the announcement at Leapfrog's 10th anniversary meeting, held in Washington. The list, chosen from a field of almost 1,200, includes 53 university and other teaching hospitals, five rural hospitals, and seven children's hospitals.

The selection is based on the results of the Leapfrog Group's national survey that measures hospitals' performance in four crucial areas of patient safety and quality: the use of computer physician order entry (CPOE) to prevent medication errors; standards for doing high-risk procedures such as heart surgery; protocols and policies to reduce medical errors and other safe practices recommended by the National Quality Forum; and adequate nurse and physician staffing.

In addition, hospitals are measured on their progress in preventing infections and other hospital-acquired conditions and adopting policies on the handling of serious medical errors.

"This is the largest number of hospitals to achieve the top hospital designation since the award's inception in 2006," noted Leapfrog CEO Leah Binder.

The 1,200 hospitals that publicly report their performance via the Leapfrog Survey do so voluntarily. "In a way, that makes all of them top hospitals," said Binder. "It represents an enormous commitment by the institution to not only measure what they do against tough standards, but also to work for change and be transparent about it. And it's a signal to employers and other healthcare purchasers in their community that these hospitals care."

Leapfrog Board Chair David Knowlton, president of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, pointed out that qualifying for the top hospital rank grows more difficult each year as Leapfrog's standards evolve and new standards are added. "Leapfrog's members, as purchasers of care, and our partners and supporters believe that the challenges for American healthcare go far beyond just keeping costs down.  Making certain that patients get the right care at the right time – value – is an equal part of the equation."

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded a decade ago to work for improvements in healthcare safety, quality and affordability. Initially organized by the Business Roundtable, it is now an independent organization working with a broad range of partners, including hospitals and insurers.

The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind. Leapfrog officials say they plan to expand their efforts in the months ahead to work with consumer groups and other national organizations to get the hospital survey results in front of more individuals making decisions about where to receive care.

The list top hospitals is on the next page.