Today the Leapfrog Group announced its 2010 List of Top Hospitals which includes Mayo Clinic Hospitals in Arizona and Florida, along with Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, Minn. According to the announcement, only 65 hospitals were selected for this prestigious award out of a field of 1,200 national teaching, children’s and community hospitals that publicly report their performance via the Leapfrog survey.
In order to receive Top Hospital recognition, a hospital must meet high standards for:
- Use of computer physician order entry (CPOE) to prevent medication errors
- Complex, high-risk procedures such as heart surgery
- Adherence to protocols and policies for reducing medical errors and other safe practices recommended by the National Quality Forum
- Adequate nurse and physician staffing.
In addition, hospitals are measured on progress in preventing infections and other hospital-acquired conditions and the handling of serious medical events. This year, hospitals were also evaluated on efficiency — which looked at patient length of stay and hospital readmissions.
“The recognition of three of our hospitals on this Top Hospital List is a testament to the level of quality and value being defined across our organization and delivered by our staff,” says John Noseworthy, M.D., president and CEO, Mayo Clinic.
In today’s announcement, Leapfrog Board Chair David Knowlton noted that qualifying for the top hospital rank grows more difficult each year as Leapfrog’s standards evolve and new standards are added.
Leapfrog results are available at www.leapfroggroup.org
In the video below, Mayo Clinic director of quality, Dr. Stephen Swensen, comments on being named to the list.
