A new report card from healthcare watchdog The Leapfrog Group ranks hospitals for patient safety – A through F. Infections, medication and medical error and injuries are still rampant, according to Leapfrog's survey. Massachusetts hospitals ranked high. Those in the nation's capitol had the lowest average scores.

Approximately 400 people die every day because of hospital errors – the equivalent of a jet crashing every day and killing all aboard, Leapfrog notes. In response to this silent epidemic, more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals will now receive an A, B, C, D or F Hospital Safety Score based on patient safety via a first-of-its-kind initiative.

A blue ribbon panel of the nation’s top patient safety experts provided guidance to the Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits, to develop the Hospital Safety Score. The Hospital Safety Score is calculated using publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections.

Not all hospitals earned an A, and there are some surprises, including hospitals with outstanding reputations for quality appearing with Hospital Safety Scores of B, C or below.

"The Hospital Safety Score exclusively measures safety – meaning errors, accidents, and infections," said Ashish Jha, MD, of Harvard, a member of the blue ribbon expert panel. "Even hospitals with excellent programs for surgical and medical care, state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment, and dedicated physicians may still need this score as a reminder that patient safety should be a top priority."

"The Leapfrog Group’s goal is to give patients the vital information they need and deserve before even entering a hospital," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group. "We hope people will use this score to talk with their doctor, make informed decisions about where to seek care, and take the right precautions during a hospital stay."

For the first time, the Hospital Safety Score will highlight the country’s best hospitals and warn against the worst to save lives and bring attention to the nation’s silent safety epidemic. According to recent studies, one in four Medicare patients will leave a hospital with a potentially fatal issue they didn’t have prior to hospitalization. On average, one medication error per day occurs for each hospitalized patient, and more than 180,000 Americans die every year from hospital accidents, errors, and infections.

The Hospital Safety Score website allows visitors to search hospital scores for free, and also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay.

"The Leapfrog Group board has been frustrated with the lack of progress in improving patient safety, despite significant industry efforts over the past decade," said David Knowlton, immediate past chair of the Leapfrog Group Board of Directors and chair of the Leapfrog Group’s Patient Safety Committee. "It is time for a game changer. It’s time to give American families the heads-up they need to protect themselves if they face the need for a hospital stay."

The Leapfrog Group’s membership of employers and other purchasers of health benefits, and business coalitions on health across the country, will be working to engage communities, employers, health plans, and hospitals in using the Hospital Safety Score to improve safety, Leapfrog executives said. The Hospital Safety Score will be reissued using updated data in November 2012, with an annual Hospital Safety Score to follow in 2013 and beyond.

Key findings:

• Of the 2,652 general hospitals issued a Hospital Safety Score, 729 earned an A, 679 earned a B, and 1243 earned a C or below.
• A wide range of hospitals earned A's with no one class of hospitals dominating among those showing the highest safety scores.
• Hospitals earning an A include academic medical centers Massachusetts General, NYU Langone Medical Center, and University of California San Francisco. Many rural hospitals earned an A, including Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Iowa and Baptist Health South Florida Homestead Hospital in Florida.
• Hospitals with myriad national accolades, such as Mayo Clinic, Virginia Mason Medical Center, and University of Michigan Medical Center, each earned an A.

Less predictable were the A scores earned by hospitals serving highly vulnerable, impoverished, and/or health-challenged populations, such as Bellevue Hospital, Montefiore Hospital, and Detroit Receiving Hospital.

"A" scores were awarded to for-profit hospitals including many in the HCA systems, as well as hundreds of not-for-profit and public hospitals.

Community hospitals showed excellence as well, such as OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Illinois.

More on methodology and panel experts on next page.