Rating the Raters is an opinion piece just published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which rates four hospital quality rating systems. The authors awarded The Leapfrog Group a C minus.

At the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, a regional leader for Leapfrog, we are proud that in our state every hospital voluntarily reports to Leapfrog. And we have seen how hospitals have used the Leapfrog hospital safety survey to drive quality improvements in their hospitals. Those improvements translate into lives saved.

Measuring patient quality is an evolving science with room for improvement. That’s why Leapfrog engages expert panels and provides ample time for public comment before new measures and survey changes are implemented.

At the Quality Institute, we support transparency in health care.  Moreover, we’ve seen how hospitals use the Leapfrog survey as a quality improvement tool. We host annual Quality Breakfasts where chief medical, nursing and quality officers share their best practices with one another and often say how the Leapfrog survey helps them assess and improve their work to make their hospitals safer. They also engage in an important dialogue with Leapfrog each year about proposed changes.  The effort is collaborative, as we strive for zero preventable errors or infections.

Most importantly, on Leapfrog’s website, consumers can easily obtain the most up-do-date and valuable data on hospital errors, injuries, accidents and infections. Leapfrog also provides the most up-to-date information on maternal measures, such as Cesarean section rates and episiotomy rates by “brick and mortar” hospital. Consumers use this information to find the providers that are right for them.

We support Leapfrog because the measurements are trustworthy and transparent. New Jersey hospitals also trust Leapfrog and appreciate its transparency and openness.  We continue to encourage consumers, employers, and health plans to use this information when choosing a hospital.