PATIENT SAFETY
CULTURE OF SAFETY SURVEY
In order to make improvements, one must first measure. UAB Medicine embarked on a mission to first measure then improve the safety culture of the organization. Safety culture is defined as the sum of what an organization is and does in the pursuit of safety – the product of individual and group beliefs, values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies, and patterns of behavior that determine the organization’ s commitment to quality and patient safety.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Culture of Safety Survey( COSS) was selected to measure the culture. UAB Medicine sought to use this survey assessment tool to accomplish six goals:
1. Raise staff awareness about patient safety 2. Diagnose and assess the current status of our patient safety culture 3. Identify strengths and areas for patient safety culture improvement 4. Examine future trends in patient safety culture 5. Evaluate the impact of patient safety initiatives and interventions 6. Conduct internal and external comparisons
MAIN FINDINGS Teamwork was the primary positive theme for UAB Medicine. Employees in both the inpatient and ambulatory environments responded that their work areas demonstrate the value of teamwork( 83 %). Staff also responded that an emphasis on organizational learning is a paramount expectation( 76 %). These results tracked similarly with national results.
Staffing / Workplace Pressure and Pace, Non-punitive Response to Error, and Handoffs and Transitions represented the areas with the greatest opportunity for improvement at UAB and nationally.
NEXT STEPS To date, survey results have been communicated to executive leadership, senior leadership, and the quality subcommittee of the board. Action plans for recommendations have been developed, and a timeline for implementation will be discussed with executive leadership. Operational leadership will communicate results with staff through targeted communication to work units. This is an ongoing process for UAB Medicine leadership who are continually working to assess and improve the safety culture. www. uabmedicine. org 13