The Hospital Safety Score is one piece of information you should use when planning a hospital stay. Below are some, but not all, of the scenarios where the Hospital Safety Score can help you make the right decision:
The safety measurements the Hospital Safety Score considers represent the very basic blocks of medical care, such as hand-washing, computerized medication control and nurse staffing levels. Determine the Hospital Safety Score of your local hospital before there is an emergency and use this information to talk to your doctor about your safety. Use the score to start a conversation with hospital leadership and local policymakers about hospital safety. You have a choice. And you deserve to be in the safest hospital possible. Never refuse care in an emergency because of the hospital’s grade on the Hospital Safety Score, but use it as a guide for planned events and a research tool for potential emergencies. For more information on choosing the right hospital for you, visit “Preparing For Your Hospital Stay.”
Unfortunately, our experts often do not have enough information on every hospital to issue a fair score. This is because certain hospitals are exempt from the requirement to publicly report on safety. Exempt hospitals include:
Additionally, many hospitals are exempt from providing information to the federal government because they are too small, or for other reasons. If those hospitals choose not to report voluntarily through The Leapfrog Hospital Survey, we cannot issue a fair score showing how safe they are compared to other hospitals across the country. Military and veteran’s hospitals are not issued a Hospital Safety Score; they publicly report on safety differently than other hospitals. Leapfrog experts are studying ways to score them in the future.
One of the most significant problems with today’s healthcare system is the failure to make safety and quality information available to the public so that you can make informed choices about where you receive care. The purpose of the Hospital Safety Score is to bring this information to light in a way that is easy for you – the consumer – to use. Leapfrog advocates for public access to quality and safety data from ALL U.S. hospitals, and we welcome you to contact your legislators to demand more information to keep your families safe.
Overall, we recommend going to hospitals that receive an “A” Hospital Safety Score. If your local hospital rates below an “A”, we encourage you to talk with your doctor at that hospital and urge them to improve their safety protocols.