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