Slow progress on meeting hospital safety standards: learning from the Leapfrog Group's efforts.

The Leapfrog Group pioneered efforts to improve hospital quality by emphasizing adoption of evidence-based practices for safer care. Although adoption of the Leapfrog recommendations has not been shown to decrease inpatient mortality, it has been associated with improved quality of care in other areas. The Leapfrog Group targeted specific cities and states, asking hospitals within these regions to publicly report their implementation of the recommended practices in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. This analysis of Leapfrog survey data found minimal improvement over time in two key Leapfrog recommendations: computerized provider order entry implementation and intensivist staffing of critical care units. These findings, according to the authors, may indicate that hospitals did not have a business case for investing in patient safety.