The Leapfrog Group last week released its Fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, giving about 30% of 2,901 hospitals—the largest number of facilities ever represented in the rankings—an 'A' grade.

Cheat sheet: See how Leapfrog calculates its ratings

Methodology

For the fall 2021 report, Leapfrog assigned "A" to "F" letter grades to 2,901 general acute-care hospitals in the United States based on how effective the facilities were at preventing "medical errors, accidents, injuries, and infections that kill or harm patients," according to the company's press release.

Hospitals were assessed on more than 30 evidence-based patient-safety measures—measures that for the first time include post-operative sepsis, blood leakage, and kidney injury. According to the methodology, Leapfrog primarily used data from CMS and the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, with some additional information from "supplemental data sources."

The Leapfrog ratings, which are updated twice a year, focus on acute-care hospitals. The ratings do not cover facilities such as critical access hospitals, specialty hospitals, and federal hospitals because of a lack of sufficient data.

How hospitals performed

In the latest report, of the more than 2,900 general acute-care hospitals graded:

• 32% received an "A" rating;
• 26% received a "B" rating;
• 35% received a "C" rating;
• 7% received a "D" rating; and
• Less than 1% received an "F" rating.

To see how your hospital fared, visit Leapfrog Group's website.

Hospital performance varied by state

According to Leapfrog, the Fall 2021 Safety Grades discovered significant variations in patient safety performance among U.S. hospitals. For instance, Virginia, North Carolina, Idaho, Massachusetts, and Colorado had the highest percentages of "A" hospitals, while Delaware, the District of Columbia, and North Dakota did not have any "A" grade hospitals. According to Leapfrog, these variations highlight the need for accessible information that allows patients to make an informed decision when choosing the best hospital for them.

"As the pandemic continues, we all have heightened awareness of the importance of hospitals in our communities and in our lives," said Leah Binder, Leapfrog president and CEO. "It is critical that all hospitals put patient safety first. Now we have more information on more hospitals than ever before, so people can protect themselves and their families." (Leapfrog release, 11/10; Leapfrog methodology, accessed 11/17)