Rate of Early Elective Deliveries Declines in Illinois Hospitals
Health and business leaders continue to caution against unnecessary deliveries
Media Contact: Cary Conway
CHICAGO – February 21, 2013 – The employer-driven hospital quality watchdog, The Leapfrog Group, announced today that the rate of early elective deliveries in Illinois has been reduced by almost half (13.7% in 2011 to 7.2% in 2012). Organizations such as the non-profit Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH), Chicago-area hospitals, health plans and other stakeholders have been working the last two years to decrease the number of babies electively scheduled for delivery too early for non-medical reasons.
Early elective deliveries – performing elective inductions or cesarean procedures prior to 39 completed week’s gestation without medical necessity – have been decreasing since 2010 when the Leapfrog Group became the first to publically report hospital rates. This year nationally, 46% of the 773 reporting hospitals met Leapfrog’s early elective deliveries target rate of less than 5%, an improvement from 39% in 2011. Data from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey is the only national source of this data by hospital. Of the 69 hospitals in Illinois who reported early elective delivery rates in both 2011 and 2012:
- Sixteen (23%) hospitals have improved and are now below the target rate of 5%
- Nine (13%) hospitals fell below the target of 5% in 2011 and have continued to improve their rates in 2012 – with a few now at 0%
- Fifteen (22%) additional hospitals have improved their rates, some with more than 50% improvement, but still above the target of 5%
“We are fortunate to have many dedicated individuals and organizations in our state focused on ensuring non-medically related early deliveries are kept to a minimum,” said Larry Boress, MBGH president and CEO. “However, there’s still a lot of work to do, especially with increasing awareness and education to women about the importance of having a full-term baby.”
Having a baby prior to full-term can be dangerous, resulting in NICU admissions, increased length of stay, higher costs to patients and payors, and potentially lifelong health challenges. Though Leapfrog remains the only organization reporting rates by hospitals, others are working to educate women, providers, and hospitals about the importance of reducing these high-risk births. Groups including Childbirth Connection, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, March of Dimes, Catalyst for Payment Reform, the Joint Commission, Partnership for Patients, and CMS as part of its Strong Start Initiative, have brought national and regional attention to the pressing health care issue.
“Since The Leapfrog Group started drawing attention to the issue, we have seen encouraging improvements in hospital performance,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Our data shows that 75 percent of hospitals improved this year, and the national average dropped from 14.0% to 11.2%, evidence to the commitment many hospitals are making to put babies and mothers first.”
Rates of early elective deliveries by hospital, as well as statewide averages, are publicly available on www.LeapfrogGroup.org/TooEarlyDeliveries.
About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.
About the Midwest Business Group on Health
With more than 120 member organizations, the Midwest Business Group on Health is one of the nation’s leading non-profit business groups of large, self-insured public and private employers serving as a catalyst for community initiatives to improve the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of the health care delivery system. MBGH is an essential resource to support employers in effectively managing their health benefits through high-quality education, research, networking and benchmarking. MBGH is a founding member of the National Business Coalition on Health.
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