The Leapfrog Group has sent a cease-and-desist letter to five Palm Beach County hospitals in the wake of their lawsuit filed against the nonprofit health care watchdog.
The letter demands the hospitals, all owned by for-profit Tenet Healthcare, and a law firm stop spreading "false statements" about Leapfrog Group and its safety grades process.
News of the letter was first reported by .
The letter follows the hospitals' April 30 federal that accuses Leapfrog Group of publishing misleading safety rankings with a "rigged" methodology.
According to the lawsuit, Leapfrog Group pressures hospitals to volunteer their data and pay for memberships, and that the highest-rated hospitals are paying members. Leapfrog disputes the allegations.
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The hospitals are Good Samaritan Medical Center and St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach; Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach; Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center; and West Boca Medical Center in Boca Raton.
According , a safety grade of F was given to Delray, West Boca and Palm Beach Gardens; and a grade of D was given to Good Samaritan and St. Mary's.
The hospitals are seeking over $75,000 in damages, for Leapfrog to cease grading them and for the recent grades to be removed from Leapfrog Group's safety report cards.
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