DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital have earned top scores for hospital safety from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit organization run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits.
 
The “A” scores for Leapfrog’s spring 2019 survey are part of the group’s Hospital Safety Grades, issued to hospitals every six months. Duke Health’s three hospitals were among 832 out of approximately 2,600 hospitals surveyed nationwide to receive an A from the organization.

The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Score grades hospitals on a scale of “A” to “F” based on their overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable medical errors, injuries, accidents and infections. The Hospital Safety Grade is compiled under the guidance of patient safety experts and is designed to inform patients about facilities when faced with hospitalization.
 
To produce a single score representing a hospital’s safety performance, The Leapfrog Group’s rating system uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data. Grades are calculated on process, structural and outcomes measures. Process and structural criteria represent how often a hospital gives patients recommended treatment for a given medical condition or procedure and the environment in which patients receive care. Outcomes measures include what happens to a patient while receiving care. 

Comparisons of hospital scores locally and nationally are available at http://www.leapfroggroup.org/