Health Affairs, 22, no. 2 (2003): 46-59 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.22.2.46 © 2003 by Project HOPE	New Online   Pay Cuts For Medicare Docs   Access To Care Woes   Public Coverage More Efficient   Empowering Consumers

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Employers & Quality

The Leapfrog Standards: Ready To Jump From Marketplace To Courtroom?

The Leapfrog Group, a consortium of large employers, aims to use its collective purchasing power to motivate hospitals to implement particular measures designed to improve patient safety and the quality of care. While these criteria are meant to be purely aspirational, and while Leapfrog’s effort is praiseworthy, we caution that the articulation of these standards of care may have unintended legal consequences. Efforts by aggressive medical malpractice attorneys could rapidly transform Leapfrog’s standards from marketplace advantages for compliant hospitals to performance expectations required by law. This undesirable potential outcome compounds the importance of selecting these standards with the utmost care.

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