The Leapfrog Group works to bring giant leaps forward in the safety, quality and affordability of health care by supporting informed healthcare decisions by those who use and pay for health care and promoting high-value health care through incentives and rewards.

This effort is rooted in four ideas:

• American health care remains far below obtainable levels of basic safety, quality, and
  overall customer value.
• The health industry would improve more rapidly if purchasers better recognized and rewarded superior safety and overall value.
• Voluntary adherence to purchasing principles by a critical mass of America's largest employers would provide a large jump-start and encourage other purchasers to join.
• These principles should not only champion superior overall value but should initially focus on a handful of specific innovations offering "great leaps" to maximize media and consumer support and adoption by other purchasers.

Our leaps adhere to four primary criteria. 

1. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that these quality and safety leaps will significantly reduce preventable medical mistakes.
2. Their implementation by the health industry is feasible in the near term. 
3. Consumers can readily appreciate their value. 
4. Health plans, purchasers or consumers can easily ascertain their presence or absence in selecting among health care providers.
5. These leaps are a practical first step in using purchasing power to improve hospital safety and quality.

Because the health industry needs time to meet these standards, members of HAC, through the Health Quality Forum Ohio, and other Leapfrog purchasers are working with the provider community to arrive at aggressive but feasible target dates for implementation of Leapfrog's recommended quality practices.