Hospitals that are flunking out when it comes to patient safety really only have one choice, according to the Leapfrog Group: Get better.
"In terms of what hospitals should do with these scores, it really should be a wake-up call that they are performing too poorly on issues that matter to patients, employees and their purchasers," said Jillian Laffrey, senior communications and membership coordinator at Leapfrog.
Leapfrog released its Fall 2015 Hospital Safety Score ratings on Wednesday, showing 773 earned an "A," 724 earned a "B," 866 earned a "C," 133 earned a "D" and 34 failed. The group uses a mix of data from its own hospital surveys and quality metrics from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Leapfrog then vets the results through its panel of independent patient safety experts, which include healthcare professionals from esteemed organizations such as Johns Hopkins, UC Davis and Harvard.
"We are very transparent with our methodology," said Laffrey, "which makes it very easy for hospitals to understand exactly where they fall in the spectrum of providing good care to patients."
[Also: See which hospitals earned an 'A' in the Fall 2015 Leapfrog safety ratings]
[Also: See which hospitals scored an 'F' in the Leapfrog Group's Fall 2015 safety ratings]
[Also: Maine hospitals lead in safety, Leapfrog says; 773 US hospitals earn an 'A']
[Also: See how states rank]
But a poor Leapfrog rating may not be the only score hospitals have to consider, especially with organizations like CMS, U.S. News, Consumer Reports, Healthgrades and now even social media site Yelp offering the public a place to glean ratings of doctors and hospitals. Often, scores can change based on the ratings site. For example, while the Marion General Hospital in Marion, Indiana earned an 'F' from Leapfrog, it also earned 4 stars for patient experience in the latest Hospital Compare ratings by CMS.
From the consumer angle, Laffrey sees nothing wrong with that kind of variance, especially since each ratings program focuses on different aspects and uses a unique methodology.
"Consumers have to navigate a lot of rating info all the time, we are used to doing that," she said. "There is absolutely room within this space to look at different measures of quality and safety."
But only Leapfrog hones in on patient safety, she said, which makes its Hospital Safety Score an important program since it tackles a factor in care that other ratings may not uncover.
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"You can have the best surgeon operating on you, but if the nurses aren't washing their hands it can be very dangerous," she said.
As for Yelp, a newcomer in the healthcare ratings field, Laffrey sees the social media site filling a unique space.
"People in general want their voices to be heard, and there should be room for that in the world of patient-driven healthcare."
Twitter: @HenryPowderly