Exploring the Relationship Between Hospital Patient Safety Culture and Performance on Measures of Hospital-Acquired Conditions

Abstract

Objective The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between hospital perceptions of patient safety culture and the incidence of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) included in Medicare’s HAC Reduction Program utilizing updated and standardized metrics. Methods The pooled cross-sectional study design utilized the 2018 and 2021 datasets from (1) the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS), (2) the American Hospital Association’s annual survey, and (3) the Center for Medicare and Medicaid’s Hospital Compare dataset. The final analytic sample included 131 acute care, nonfederal, U.S. facilities. Multivariable linear regression models were used to compare the HSOPS domains of patient safety culture to CMS’s HAC metrics. Results Controlling for hospital structural and patient-mix characteristics, hospitals with higher staff-reported ratings of overall patient safety culture (‘overall perceptions of patient safety’ and ‘patient safety grade’) had significantly lower rates of HACs, including total HAC rate, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and central line-associated blood stream infections (P’s < 0.000–0.044). Higher HSOPS domain scores were variably associated with lower HAC rates, with consistently significant associations found for domains related to nonpunitive, open communication (P’s < 0.05). Conclusions Our relatively robust results suggest that while patient safety culture may not be the only strategy necessary to improve HAC rates, it needs to be aligned with other efforts to improve quality and safety. This underscores the importance of cultivating a culture of psychological safety that promotes open feedback and communication about errors.