Gradual Improvement in Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture

Among hospitals that have submitted data more than once, the average percentage of positive scores on the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture has increased by 1 percentage point, according to Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture: 2012 User Comparative Database Report, released February 2012 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The survey includes 42 items that measure 12 areas, or composites, of patient safety culture; it also asks respondents to give their unit an overall patient safety grade and indicate how many events they reported in the past 12 months. The comparative database report presents data from 1,128 U.S. hospitals and 567,703 respondents, plus change over time for the 650 hospitals that submitted data more than once. Four appendixes present data by hospital and respondent characteristics. Hospitals can use the report to compare their patient safety culture to that of other hospitals.