URAC and the Leapfrog Group Announce 'Excellence in Hospital Website Transparency Program'

Washington, DC - URAC and the Leapfrog Group have partnered to develop the Excellence in Hospital Website Transparency Best Practices Awards and Acknowledgement Program to identify outstanding hospital websites that promote transparency of quality measures in a manner that is useful and user-friendly for consumers.  All hospitals who publically report their Leapfrog Hospital Survey results are eligible.

The awards program consists of two parts. Part I is an analysis of the overall website transparency and is determined based on a set of objective criteria established in accordance with the National Quality Forum's guidelines for consumer-focused, Internet-based public reporting of health performance data as well as the Model Public Report Elements prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and other research-based criteria. The criteria have been developed for the categories of design, credibility, literacy, and connectivity.  Part II evaluates applicants in terms of best practices in website transparency and reporting, and is determined by a panel of expert judges.

All hospitals that meet a minimum number of the criteria in Part I will receive an Acknowledgementof Excellence in Hospital Website Transparency.   Three winners will then be selected by the judging panel to receive the Best Practices in Hospital Website Transparency Award.

The awards program will be launched in April 2012, and all applications must be completed by September. The awards will be presented at the Annual Leapfrog's Regional Roll-Out Meetings in March 2013, which includes major employer and business coalition groups. More information about the Leapfrog awards program can be found at https://www.urac.org/hospitalwebsiteawards/.

About URAC

URAC is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes health care quality through its accreditation, education and measurement programs. The URAC Health Web Site Accreditation program outlines a framework of best practices that address the operational policies and procedures necessary for quality online operations, and ensures the quality of health care information for consumers. URAC offers a wide range of quality benchmarking programs and services that keep pace with the rapid changes in the health care system and provide a symbol of excellence for organizations to validate their commitment to quality and accountability. Through its broad-based governance structure and an inclusive standards development process, URAC ensures that all stakeholders are represented in establishing meaningful quality measures for the entire health care industry. For more information, visit www.urac.org.

About The Leapfrog Group

The Leapfrog Group is a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert America's health industry that big leaps in health care safety, quality and customer value will be recognized and rewarded. Among other initiatives, Leapfrog works with its employer members to encourage transparency and easy access to health care information as well as rewards for hospitals that have a proven record of high quality care. The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is the gold standard for comparing hospitals' performance on the national standards of safety, quality, and efficiency that are most relevant to consumers and purchasers of care. For more information, visithttp://www.leapfroggroup.org/.

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Maureen Ryan
(202) 962-8811
[email protected]