Do Hospitals Led by Physician CEO's Have Better Leapfrog Scores

This study aimed to compare patient outcomes among hospitals led by physician and non-physician CEOs. Data were derived from the 2016 American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey Database and publicly available Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades published on www .LeapfrogGroup .org. Of 1,926 hospitals in the AHA database with a grade published on the Leapfrog website, 139 had a physician CEO. Physician CEOs led larger and busier hospitals, but the study indicated no association between Leapfrog Safety Grade and physician CEO status, even when controlling for bed size and region. Only 30% of AHA hospitals participated in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Of those, physicians represented a small percentage of hospital CEOs; however, when present, physician-led hospitals were larger and busier. While the study indicated no association between Leapfrog grade and physician status, data suggest that larger and busier hospitals have lower grades than smaller hospitals.