3 big-name hospitals stop publicly reporting some infection data

Three large hospital systems—Cleveland Clinic, Henry Ford in Detroit, and Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, Ind.—have stopped reporting data on hospital-acquired infections to the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., according to our updated hospital Ratings. That deprives consumers of important information on hospital safety. John Santa, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center, says: Eileen Sheil, executive director of corporate communications for Cleveland Clinic, said that the hospital system stopped reporting to the Leapfrog group so it could focus its efforts on reports it makes to similar government-run databases. That includes one run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that all hospitals must now report to. "We are committed to safe, high-quality outcomes and transparency," said Sheil.