The Defense Health Agency (DHA) announced on May 1, 2024, that nine military hospitals received an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. This recognition underscores DHA’s dedication to delivering safe, high-quality healthcare and maintaining transparency in its operations.
What is The Leapfrog Safety Grade?
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is a letter-grade system that focuses exclusively on patient safety measures. This system uses over 30 national performance indicators to assess errors, accidents, injuries, and infections. It also evaluates the preventive systems in place at hospitals. The program allows all hospitals, including military facilities, to publicly report their progress in quality and safety, fostering a culture of transparency.
Administered by the Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog that advocates for improved patient safety in healthcare, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public. The spring 2024 hospital safety grades were released this week.
“We commend all of our healthcare teams for their unwavering commitment to high reliability and excellence,” said Dr. Paul Cordts, the chief medical officer for DHA. DHA is notably the first federal health system to participate in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program. All military inpatient hospitals and clinics currently track and report on the areas surveyed by the program.
“We’re humbled at everyone’s enthusiastic participation across our healthcare system,” added Cordts, who also serves as DHA’s deputy assistant director for medical affairs responsible for clinical quality and patient safety. “The quality and safety assurance measures and improvement initiatives that are in place ensure that we’re providing the best care possible for our beneficiaries.”
The nine military hospitals that received an “A” grade are:
- 96th Medical Group, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
- 673d Medical Group, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
- Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Cavazos, Texas
- Evans Army Community Hospital, Fort Carson, Colorado
- Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland
- William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas
- Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Liberty, North Carolina
- Wright-Patterson Medical Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
Quality, Patient Safety, and Access Information for Patients
Military beneficiaries can easily access information on the performance of military hospitals and clinics through the Quality, Patient Safety, and Access hub. This resource provides data on patient safety, healthcare outcomes, quality of care, patient satisfaction, and access to care.
The transparency hub allows Department of Defense beneficiaries to compare data from external organizations. This includes the Leapfrog Group, The Joint Commission, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Care Compare initiative. Users can review and compare facilities based on patient access to care, patient satisfaction, quality of care, and patient safety information. They can also view overall ratings and downloadable data sheets. The tool also allows for comparisons of up to three facilities in a geographic area simultaneously.
Other national quality registries that highly rate military hospitals and clinics include the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, the National Perinatal Information Center, and the Health Employer Data Information System.
Additionally, the DHA annually releases a comprehensive report titled “Annual Evaluation of the TRICARE Program.” This detailed report, exceeding 200 pages, provides an in-depth analysis of the Military Health System’s performance. It covers the quality of care, patient trends, hospital and clinic ratings, and patient safety statistics. It also includes population statistics, TRICARE plan enrollment data, and a financial breakdown of the DOD’s medical programs. Required by law, this report is distributed to Congress and other stakeholders and is publicly available.
Dr. Cordts highlighted the importance of the Leapfrog safety grades: “We are extremely proud of this recognition and celebrate these accomplishments because it shows we are doing the best job we can to take care of our beneficiaries.”
MHS Communications (May 3, 2024). 9 Military Hospitals Receive Highest Leapfrog Grade for Safe, High-Quality Care. https://newsroom.tricare.mil/News/TRICARE-News/Article/3764456/9-military-hospitals-receive-highest-leapfrog-grade-for-safe-high-quality-care
