A stronger patient safety culture is achievable   Having accurate, reliable data is the foundation of a strong patient safety culture. Without it, healthcare facilities struggle to make informed decisions based on their  Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®)  results. Ensuring SOPS® data accuracy is critical, as even small discrepancies can impact the effectiveness of patient safety initiatives.  Watch the last video from our six-part patient safety culture series Access the full video on our YouTube:  6️⃣ SOPS® Beyond Scores: Ensuring Data Accuracy The importance of data accuracy in SOPS® surveys  When healthcare organizations conduct SOPS® surveys, they rely on staff participation to provide genuine insights into their safety culture. However, collecting data is only the first step. If the data are inaccurate or incomplete, leadership may draw incorrect conclusions about their hospital's patient safety culture, potentially leading to ineffective...

Understanding your patient safety culture survey data  Conducting an Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) assessment is a critical step in improving patient safety, but the real value lies in what healthcare facilities do with their results. Many organizations focus on identifying weaknesses, but it's just as important to recognize strengths. So, once you've collected the data, what's next? Watch the fifth video from our six-part patient safety culture series Access the full video on our YouTube:  5️⃣ SOPS® Beyond Scores: We Collected the Data, Now What? Step 1: Compile the data into a usable format  After gathering responses, the priority should be organizing the data into a format that facilitates analysis. This means:  creating tables, graphs and charts that provide clear insights;  benchmarking results against the AHRQ national benchmarks ; and  comparing unit-level performance within a hospital or across facilities.  Step 2: Analyze benchma...

How leadership sets the example for patient safety culture  Building a strong patient safety culture starts at the top. When hospital leadership actively supports the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) , it encourages staff participation and reinforces a commitment to continuous improvement. Without leadership buy-in, staff may see patient safety surveys as a low priority, leading to disengagement and missed opportunities for meaningful change.  Watch the fourth video from our six-part patient safety culture series Access the full video on our YouTube:  4️⃣ SOPS® Beyond Scores: Set the Example The critical role of leadership in SOPS® participation   Successful SOPS® survey participation depends on visible leadership endorsement. When executives and senior management express enthusiasm for patient safety culture surveys, that energy spreads throughout the organization. Staff members are more likely to engage when they see leadership prioritizing feedback ...

Addressing Survey Fatigue to Improve Patient Safety Culture  Healthcare facilities rely on the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) to assess their safety climate. However, survey fatigue can hinder participation and impact response rates. To ensure meaningful feedback, healthcare organizations must take strategic steps to encourage engagement while maintaining staff confidence. Watch the third video from our six-part patient safety culture series Access the full video on our YouTube:  3️⃣ SOPS® Beyond Scores: How to Make an Impact 1. Flexible participation: A solution to increase SOPS® response rates  One way to combat survey fatigue is by varying staff participation. Instead of requiring all employees to complete every survey, healthcare facilities can rotate participation. For example, if a unit has eight nurses, four can take one survey while the others complete a different one. This method ensures valuable feedback without overwhelming staff.  Additionall...

Boosting safety and patient outcomes through SOPS® surveys  A strong patient safety culture is the foundation of high-quality healthcare. Healthcare facilities must actively engage their staff in Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) to gain critical insights into safety challenges and opportunities for improvement. High participation rates lead to more reliable data, helping organizations implement meaningful changes that enhance both staff confidence and patient outcomes. Here are four ways to boost safety and patient outcomes. Watch the second video from our six-part patient safety culture series Access the full video on our YouTube:  2️⃣ SOPS® Beyond Scores: Boosting Safety and Patient Outcomes. 1. Confidentiality: A cornerstone of patient safety culture surveys  Ensuring anonymity in SOPS® surveys is essential to fostering open and honest feedback. Employees, from environmental services, e.g. EVS technicians, janitors or housekeeping staff, to senior surge...

Encouraging staff participation in Surveys on Patient Safety Culture (SOPS®)  Fostering a strong patient safety culture is essential for improving patient outcomes and ensuring high-quality care in healthcare facilities. One of the most effective ways to assess and enhance patient safety culture is through Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) , which provide critical insights into staff perceptions of safety in their healthcare facility.  Watch the first video from our six-part patient safety culture series Access the full video on our YouTube:  1️⃣ SOPS® Beyond Scores: Encouraging Participation .  Why staff participation in SOPS® matters  Encouraging staff participation in Surveys on Patient Safety Culture is crucial for multiple reasons. Here, we’ll break down the major points while describing why it’s important to collect patient safety culture survey data .  1. Regulatory compliance  The Joint Commission requires healthcare organizations to a...

In today’s healthcare environment, ensuring patient safety is more than just a priority — it’s a fundamental component of quality care. Establishing a strong patient safety culture within hospitals and health organizations can dramatically reduce errors, increase patient satisfaction and improve overall healthcare outcomes. But what exactly is a patient safety culture, and how can institutions cultivate it effectively?  This blog post explores the five key components that make up a robust patient safety culture, along with insights from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and The Joint Commission.  What is patient safety culture?  AHRQ defines patient safety culture as how an organization's culture supports and promotes patient safety. This can extend to multiple levels, from individual units to departments to system levels. The AHRQ patient safety culture survey encompasses the shared values, beliefs and norms of healthcare practitioners and staff that...

The Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) take your hospital’s pulse. The results help answer questions like:  Are staff focused on patient safety?  What are our safety results and where can we improve?  How do we take our scores and use them to transform patient outcomes?  How do we build staff confidence?  How do we stress the importance of patient safety?  When used strategically, the required SOPS® survey data can reveal important insights — that go beyond maintaining The Joint Commission accreditation. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality offers data collection as a part of the SOPS® survey. Though you’re spending the resources and time to complete this requirement, this effort alone doesn’t improve patient safety. You need to know which safety initiatives to target, followed by the outcomes and impact. A deep dive into the data can deliver that.  In this blog, we'll examine five important factors that impact patient safety da...

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality defines patient safety culture as "the extent to which an organization's culture supports and promotes patient safety." Patient safety culture is influenced by the values, beliefs and norms of healthcare practitioners and other staff. Since these concepts tend to be abstract, organizations looking to improve their patient safety culture must focus on identifying and measuring patient safety-related behaviors.  In this introductory blog, we'll touch on the importance of patient safety data and how it can help create a baseline. From there, you can gain a clearer idea of how to benchmark your facility to create effective patient safety culture improvement strategies.  Why collect patient safety data?  The best way to examine patient safety culture at the department, organization and system levels is to measure data. An organization can implement many different patient safety culture strategies. However, for them to be most...

The healthcare industry has faced many new challenges in recent years. How does this seemingly ever-changing landscape impact healthcare improvement in 2024 and beyond? Based on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement 2023 Forum, quality improvement, safety and culture, equity and a functional delivery system remain top priorities across sectors. This was reflected in the forum agenda , which included 10 tracks and a scientific symposium with three primary focus areas: Quality: Addressing value, cost and quality; diagnostic excellence and improvement science Culture and safety: Building capability, leadership, workforce well-being and patient and workforce safety Patient focus: Equity, person-centered care and population health Since DataGen participated, we’ll give you some exclusive insight into what was discussed so you can better understand what’s driving healthcare in the new year. The future of healthcare improvement: 4 major insights 1. Quality requires a systems approach Th...

  The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ polls staff for their opinions every two years. That is an eternity inside facilities where big changes can happen fast: from patient referral trends to quality improvement focus to workforce turnover. With all these demands, it’s easy for safety and culture to become just words and the importance of the SOPS® to lapse over time — among those who administer it and those who complete it (or don’t). With creative ideas and proven response rate tactics , hospitals can use the SOPS® survey to reinforce positive awareness and participation, support more patient safety activities and promote efforts that celebrate wins and build on successes.  1. Raise patient safety and survey awareness among staff Relevant, fresh communications are important, so frame each survey as a new opportunity to elevate patient safety. Awareness campaigns can promote time blocks to complete the survey and quick survey wi...

Survey results are meaningless without actionable insights. And when the highest levels of quality care and accreditation are on the line, actionable survey results are an absolute must for your hospital. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) suggests you collect the right data from the right people at the right time. Response rates must be high and survey answers meaningful. But these recommendations make SOPS a resource-heavy project. Cumbersome and time-consuming, key insights can be overlooked, and it can be hard to develop action plans to enhance patient and worker safety efforts, especially across two-year survey intervals. It doesn’t have to be that way. Start your SOPS process off right with these tips, including support from the right survey administration partner: DataGen . 1. Make strong, early survey decisions. AHRQ states a 60% response rate is required to obtain an accurate representation of the culture of safety in yo...