The Leapfrog Group's annual Hospital Safety Scores indicate that improvements in patient safety remain elusive.

The scoring system grades hospitals with letter grades based on errors, injuries, accidents and infections. Of the 28 measures used to calculate the grades, on average, hospital performance improved on eight measures, but average performance also declined on six measures.  

Since the launch of the Hospital Safety Score in 2012, 133 hospitals have earned an “A” in each of the twice-annual updates—approximately 5 percent of all graded hospitals.

“Taking a deeper look at the 133 ‘Straight A’ hospitals reveals a diverse group, similar only in their consistent commitment to patient safety. Hospitals from across the country, with 100 beds to over 750 beds, non-profit and for-profit alike received this top honor,” said Leah Binder, president & CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “No matter how large or small, no matter what kind of community they serve, all hospitals have the potential to give their patients this high level of safe care.”

Included in the list of “Straight A” hospitals are three hospitals in the Baptist Health South Florida system, Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center and University of Chicago Medical Center, and Baystate Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Massachusetts.

Hospitals without a perfect track record do show significant improvement. Beckley ARH Hospital, part of the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System in Beckley, West Virginia, for example, made one of the most significant jumps ever indicated in the Hospital Safety Score data. From receiving a “D” in spring 2015, they now are receiving an “A” grade for keeping their patients safe. This hospital now has top scores in computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and all five measures of safe surgical practices (Surgical Care Improvement Program measures). They also made radical improvements in their scores on falls and trauma, the five patient safety indicator measures, and have a rate of zero for central line infections.

Despite the improvements, hospitals are performing worse on critical measures like foreign objects left in after surgery. Overall, performance on safe practices and process measures varied greatly.

Of the 2,530 hospitals issued a Hospital Safety Score, 773 earned an A, 724 earned a B, 866 earned a C, 133 earned a D and 34 earned an F. 

Additionally, 133 hospitals earned the “Straight A” designation, which calls attention to hospitals who have consistently received an A grade for safety since the Hospital Safety Score launched in 2012.

For the fourth time in a row, Maine claimed the number-one spot for the state with the highest percentage of A hospitals, with nearly 69 percent of its hospitals receiving an A.

Due to a considerable data update, 46 percent of hospitals changed at least one letter grade.