More than 180,000 people die every year because of hospital negligence, according to the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit that advocates for improved hospital safety and transparency. The group recently surveyed more than 2,600 hospitals across the nation to assign a safety score to each.
Analysts and experts used publicly available data as well as information gathered through hospital surveys and from other agencies to assign each hospital a grade of A, B, C, D, or F. In forming scores, analysts used 26 different measurements of safety, including:
- How often patients developed hospital-acquired infections.
- Whether hospital employees washed their hands before seeing another patient.
- How often patients received an injury they did not have prior to hospitalization.
- Rates of medication errors and whether computerized systems were in place to prevent these errors.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Orlando Regional Medical Center scored a C and Florida Hospital received a B. The paper also notes that among about 24 Central Florida hospitals, only three received an A.
Some hospital administrators and officials of medical associations are questioning the relevancy and usefulness of the scores, according to the Sentinel. Some individuals have questioned the timeliness of the data collected, noting more recent policy changes to prevent medical malpractice.
To learn more about the survey and see scores for specific hospitals, you can visit Leapfrog’s website hospitalsafetyscore.org.
To learn about filing a medical malpractice claim in Orlando, Florida, please contact the Law Offices of Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D., to schedule a free consultation.