Enhancing Patient Safety Culture at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare

In March 2021, 42 units across Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH) took part in an Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality facilitated survey, the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS), to measure and enhance patient safety.

A comprehensive patient safety measurement tool

The survey was administered to measure organizational conditions that may lead to adverse events, raise awareness about patient safety, identify strengths and opportunities for intervention, and evaluate the impact of patient safety initiatives and interventions.

The HSOPS survey asked JHAH staff to assess patient safety culture across 10 safety dimensions using a 6-point response in terms of agreement or frequency. HSOPS safety dimensions include communication about the error, communication openness, handoffs and information exchange, hospital management support for patient safety, organizational learning- continuous improvement, reporting patient safety events, response to error, staffing and work pace, supervisor, manager, or clinical leader support for patient safety, and teamwork.

Exemplary staff engagement and commitment

The survey closed in April with a remarkable 77.7% overall participation rate, exceeding the target set before the survey was administered. Comparing 2018 to 2021 ‘Average % Positive Response’ results, overall, JHAH improved by 15% from 57% to 72%. JHAH’s performance exceeded the US Agency for Health Research & Quality (AHRQ) benchmark of 71%.

JHAH’s strongest performance, where JHAH’s performance was higher than the 2021 AHRQ benchmark, was in the categories of Organizational Learning – Continuous Improvement, Supervisor, Manager, or Clinical Leader Support for Patient Safety, Communication about Error, Handoffs and Information Exchange, and Hospital Management Support for Patient Safety.

“JHAH is continually striving to improve the culture of safety,” expressed Yasser Abed, Chief Nursing Officer (A). “The results of the 2021 JHAH HSOPS survey are indicative that JHAH is progressing well towards establishing a positive safety culture. Our 2021 results further exemplify JHAH’s foundation in communication on mutual trust, by shared perceptions of the importance of safety and by confidence in the efficacy of preventative measures.”

The results from the survey will be used to develop targeted action plans and determine areas for improvement.