Hospital Safety Scores – Another Tool for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants
The Leapfrog Group, a non-profit organization, just released its Hospital Safety Score. 2,652 hospitals were graded on overall performance in keeping patients safe from medical errors and preventable death or injuries. Their new grading systems utilized expert analysis of publicly available data using 26 evidence-based, national measures of hospital safety.
Thank you to the Leapfrog Group for giving the public a tool to make informed decisions about where they seek care. Thanks for taking on this silent epidemic of malpractice that kills up to 400 Americans every day. And thanks for giving Certified Legal Nurse Consultants yet another tool to use when consulting on medical malpractice cases.
I’m Just Sayin’
P.S. If you’re still working in a hospital, check out your facility’s score and comment here on whether you agree with that score or not.
One thought on “Hospital Safety Scores – Another Tool for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants”
No, I do not agree with these scores. First of all, the general public doesn’t doesn’t know what most of those things are or mean. Secondly, as far as “scoring” a facility on things such as Post-Op PE’s, or wounds splitting after surgery, etc. – some of those things – though unpleasant – are going to happen with a high volume of surgery patients. The data for a hospital that does 150 surgeries every week could potentially have worse data than a hospital that does 150 surgeries/year when in fact, a patient may be better off having a procedure done by a surgeon in a bigger hospital that sees that particular type of illness or injury more often. Looking at med reconciliation, that’s a work in progress in most hospitals. How can data that is not current (from 2011 and it’s June 2012) keep up with how that facility is doing now? I think scores like this do the facility and the public a disservice. Healthcare is always changing, policies are tweaked every week and process in safe care delivery is assessed every shift by a new group of eyes – if something is not working – bedside nursing has the ability to identify this and fix it through Shared Governance or other means. As for some of the rest of the scores like hand washing – SERIOUSLY??? If a patient is really educated, they do not need to look at a score on the internet for this if they feel that their healthcare providers are not taking universal precautions. It is their right as patients to simply ask the providers to wash their hands prior to administering care. With that said, a lot of lay persons may not view the alcohol rub as “proper hand washing” because they do not know the facts and may misinterpret. I think there is a lot to be said about knowing how a facility does in some things and know a hospital’s reputation – but I do not think that “scores” are the answer. Stats do not mean anything unless you know what’s behind the numbers. In conclusion, yes, I work in a hospital as a bedside nurse, yes, I am a CLNC® consultant and no, I do not agree with a score board.
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*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
No, I do not agree with these scores. First of all, the general public doesn’t doesn’t know what most of those things are or mean. Secondly, as far as “scoring” a facility on things such as Post-Op PE’s, or wounds splitting after surgery, etc. – some of those things – though unpleasant – are going to happen with a high volume of surgery patients. The data for a hospital that does 150 surgeries every week could potentially have worse data than a hospital that does 150 surgeries/year when in fact, a patient may be better off having a procedure done by a surgeon in a bigger hospital that sees that particular type of illness or injury more often. Looking at med reconciliation, that’s a work in progress in most hospitals. How can data that is not current (from 2011 and it’s June 2012) keep up with how that facility is doing now? I think scores like this do the facility and the public a disservice. Healthcare is always changing, policies are tweaked every week and process in safe care delivery is assessed every shift by a new group of eyes – if something is not working – bedside nursing has the ability to identify this and fix it through Shared Governance or other means. As for some of the rest of the scores like hand washing – SERIOUSLY??? If a patient is really educated, they do not need to look at a score on the internet for this if they feel that their healthcare providers are not taking universal precautions. It is their right as patients to simply ask the providers to wash their hands prior to administering care. With that said, a lot of lay persons may not view the alcohol rub as “proper hand washing” because they do not know the facts and may misinterpret. I think there is a lot to be said about knowing how a facility does in some things and know a hospital’s reputation – but I do not think that “scores” are the answer. Stats do not mean anything unless you know what’s behind the numbers. In conclusion, yes, I work in a hospital as a bedside nurse, yes, I am a CLNC® consultant and no, I do not agree with a score board.