The Leapfrog Group Expands Ratings to Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Settings

Efforts will highlight the quality and safety of surgeries outside of inpatient care for the first time

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Oct 16, 2018, 08:02 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leapfrog Group, a national health care nonprofit driven by employers and other purchasers of health care, announced today the expansion of its public reporting to outpatient settings. For the first time, Leapfrog will collect quality and safety data on ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) through a new voluntary survey. In addition, hospital outpatient surgery departments will report similar data through a new section of the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the organization's first rating system that has been gathering information about the quality and safety of inpatient care for almost 20 years. Both surveys will launch in April 2019.

Across both surveys, Leapfrog will gather data on several important areas including basic facility information, medical and nursing staff, procedure volume and outcomes, patient safety practices and patient experience. By fall 2019, a national report on the results will be published. ASCs and hospital outpatient surgery departments that participate will receive detailed benchmarking reports they can use with purchasers and payors in their markets. For the 2020 surveys, Leapfrog will publicly report data on individual ASCs and hospital outpatient surgery departments.

"The vast majority of surgeries in the U.S. are performed in outpatient or ambulatory settings, but there are almost no independent data about the safety and quality of this care. This leaves patients at risk without the information they need to select the best place for their care," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "We're confident that, given the opportunity, hospitals and ASCs will be transparent in voluntarily reporting their performance, just like the nearly 2,000 hospitals that report on their inpatient quality today."

To ask ASCs and hospitals to voluntarily report data, Leapfrog will work on behalf of employers through Regional Leaders, representing business groups on health across almost every state, as Leapfrog has done with the Leapfrog Hospital Survey since its inception in 2000.

Leapfrog's national Expert Panel will review and recommend content for the surveys to ensure the highest level of evidence and scientific validity. Members of the Expert Panel include:

Lee A. Fleisher, MD, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Lynn J. Reede, DNP, MBA, CRNA, FNAP, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
Elizabeth C. Wick, MD, University of California San Francisco
Linda Groah, MSN, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
Adolph J. Yates Jr., MD, University of Pittsburgh
Oliver D. Schein, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

In the first year, participation will be limited to 250 ASCs. This will allow for the refinement of questions and measure specifications before opening the survey to the more than 5,000 ASCs that operate across the United States.

ASCs or ASC networks interested in volunteering as a pilot site should contact Leapfrog's Help Desk. In addition, Leapfrog will be hosting an in-person training and orientation for ASC leaders and administrators on November 6, 2018 in Chicago, IL. Participants can register online.

About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

SOURCE The Leapfrog Group