Several South Florida hospitals have accused a national watchdog group of publishing misleading safety rankings.
The five Palm Beach County-based hospitals recently filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit the Leapfrog Group.
Each hospital is owned by the for-profit company, Tenet Healthcare.
They allege Leapfrog Group pressures hospitals to volunteer their data and to pay for memberships. The claims also indicate that Leapfrog’s highest-rated hospitals are paying members, according to the Miami Herald.
The hospitals are seeking over $75,000 in damages and to stop being graded by Leapfrog.
The nonprofit disputes the allegations, saying it uses voluntarily reported data and external sources like the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
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