Don’t see your hospital? Here’s why:

Unfortunately, our experts often do not have enough information on every hospital to issue a fair score. In some cases, hospitals may not have adequate patient volumes to meet the minimum sample size to receive a score, even though they are publicly reporting their data to the Leapfrog Hospital Survey or other data collection agencies.  Additionally, certain hospitals are exempt from the requirement to publicly report on safety, and therefore do not have sufficient data to receive a score. Exempt hospitals include:

• Guam hospitals
• Puerto Rico hospitals
• Some specialty hospitals, such as children’s hospitals and surgical centers
• Critical access hospitals

Military and veteran’s hospitals are also 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.