NEW YORK CITY, NY (September 19, 2007) -- Montefiore Medical Center is one of the top hospitals in the country, according to the prestigious Leapfrog Group, a national organization that surveys hospitals on quality and patient safety standards.

Montefiore is among only 41 hospitals nationwide in Leapfrog's 2007 Top Hospitals list. It is one of only two hospitals in New York State and the only one in New York City to make the 2007 list. 

"The Leapfrog survey is significant because it relies on pure data, not reputation, to identify hospitals that consistently adhere to established quality and safety standards such as availability of computerized physician order entry and ICU staffing," said Spencer Foreman, MD, President, Montefiore Medical Center. "Our inclusion once again on the Leapfrog Top Hospitals list confirms that our systems, staffing and processes are of the highest quality and allow us to deliver the best care for our patients."

The 2007 Top Hospitals list is based on 1,285 hospitals that responded to the Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey, which is the most complete and current assessment of hospital quality and safety available. Data is collected from hospitals on their progress toward implementing practices in four categories: computerized physician order entry (CPOE), ICU physician staffing, evidence-based hospital referral and Leapfrog Safe Practices Score.

"Leapfrog Top Hospitals demonstrate an exceptional level of performance on quality and patient safety measures and serve as a model for other hospitals," said Suzanne Delbanco, CEO, The Leapfrog Group. "However, all the participating hospitals deserve praise for their willingness to raise the veil on how well they perform on vital quality and safety practices."

Only 10 percent of the 1,285 hospitals surveyed have fully implemented computerized physician order entry, according to the Leapfrog Group.

"Montefiore established our objective of an automated electronic medical record with 100 percent physician order entry in the early 1990's, due to its tremendous potential to reduce errors in all care settings. We fulfilled that objective in 1998," said Jack Wolf, Vice President, MIS, Montefiore Medical Center.  "Our initial investment and the upgrades we continue to make today have taken us far beyond that original vision and continue to advance with a tremendously positive impact on patient care."

According to the Leapfrog Group, if all non-rural hospitals in the U.S. implemented computerized physician order entry, ICU physician staffing and just five of the evidence-based hospital referral areas, over 65,000 lives per year could be saved, over 907,000 serious medication errors prevented and the U.S. healthcare system could save approximately $41.5 billion annually.

"The Leapfrog survey is valuable because it is a very comprehensive assessment of an organization's overall commitment to quality and patient safety," said Rohit Bhalla, MD, Chief Quality Officer, Montefiore Medical Center. "It includes the systems the organization has in place, results for different care processes and patient volume. Together these offer a more complete picture for patients when they are thinking about where to get their medical care."

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