Benefits Think Reducing the cost of medical mistakes: a work in progress

“Is it safe?” This was the classic line from the movie “Marathon Man,” referring to a cache of stolen diamonds. But it could easily be asked of each of the nation’s hospitals. And the answer for most of them is that things may be getting better, but there’s still much room for improvement.

This is the conclusion reached by The Leapfrog Group based on its latest report card on about 2,500 hospitals, which found that 790 earned an “A,” 688 got a “B,” 868 received a “C,” 148 made an “D” and 26 flunked. Maine once again claimed the number-one spot with 67 percent of its hospitals earning an A.