New hospital designation program for commitment to safety of inpatients with diabetes

Recently, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) announced a partnership with The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog focused on healthcare safety, to launch a national designation program that will recognize hospitals demonstrating a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of inpatients who are living with diabetes.

A press release on the partnership said, “The new designation program, named Recognized Leader in Caring for People Living with Diabetes, will help identify hospitals that lead the nation in dedication to people living with diabetes. The program operationalizes the ADA’s expertise and its Standards of Care in Diabetes—2023 for the treatment of patients with diabetes, along with Leapfrog’s experience in rating and designating hospitals based on their performance on national quality and safety measures. Recognized Leader in Caring for People Living with Diabetes will evaluate hospitals based on their care for patients with diabetes during admission, stay, and discharge.”

Further, “People with diabetes can face major health risks while visiting a hospital, with studies suggesting that more than 200,000 people die every year from preventable errors, accidents, or infections. The estimated 40% of hospitalized people living with diabetes face increased safety risks including amputation and other complications like coma and death if mistakes are made in their daily care. Black and Indigenous people are twice as likely and Latinos are 50% more likely to undergo amputation than non-Hispanic white Americans.”

Those living with diabetes during a hospital stay require care coordination that begins at admission and continues through discharge. During the admission process, hospitals need to evaluate an individual’s blood glucose, diet, and devices. During the stay, the hospital should provide diabetes experts an additional monitoring, according to the press release. Serious health complications can arise if a patient does not receive continued blood glucose monitoring and timely administration of insulin and other medications. After the patient with diabetes is discharged, hospitals should coordinate follow-up care to ensure the individual is able to manage their post-stay care.

Leah Binder, Leapfrog president and chief executive officer was quoted in the release. Binder said, “This program will be a game-changer for families, which is why it is so important to our constituency of employers and purchasers of healthcare benefits who recognize the special vulnerability of hospitalized people living with diabetes. They will help employers alert employees and their families who receive this recognition.”

Hospitals that want to apply can sign up now to get more information on the new national standards and application process once available in September.

The Leapfrog Group has the press release.