Research shows that organizational cultures that are dedicated to teamwork, with a foundation of a “just” culture, have higher patient satisfaction and quality of care. Hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, ASCs, and medical offices have benefited by using provider-specific surveys to assess their culture and use the results to drive improvements in their transparency, communication, and teamwork. The same tool has now been developed and is available to those in air-based and ground-based emergency medical services (EMS).

Developed collaboratively between the Center for Patient Safety (CPS) and the National Registry of EMTs (NREMT), the Patient Safety Culture Survey is designed specifically for EMS. The survey was built using components from the validated and psychometrically tested Surveys on Patient Safety™ (SOPS™) from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Additionally, CPS is a recognized leader in the measurement and improvement of safety culture. The survey questions were tested extensively to ensure their relevance and appropriateness. The NREMT distributed the survey to its registrants and received more than 32,000 responses that contributed to the psychometric testing and validation.

The EMS Safety Culture Assessment should be an organization’s first step to safety. Without an accurate understanding of where you are, and measurable data, your starting point is unknown. Use reliable data and then apply proven methods of improvement. CPS can help you measure and assess your organization. Because culture changes slowly and gradually, the survey can be used repeatedly to monitor levels of progress.

The Center for Patient Safety (CPS) believes that patient safety is a concrete subject which must be defined in order to advance safer care. Our definition is made clear by the CPS mission statement, “reducing preventable harm”.  But how is patient harm reduced in an industry like EMS, where every patient encounter is different and risk is all around you?  

Start first by looking at other high risk industries and often a common theme will emerge.  That theme is the importance of positive safety culture.  From aviation to nuclear power a positive safety culture is at the foundation of the organization.  

In simple terms, an organizations culture is comprised of the many attitudes, beliefs, values and perceptions which can shape behaviors or decision making.

The survey measures the following twelve critical areas of organizational culture in EMS:

• Information Exchange
• Overall Perceptions of Patient Safety
• Teamwork
• Response to Mistakes
• Staff Training
• Organizational Learning
• Handoffs
• Leadership Support for Patient Safety
• Communications
• Staffing, Work Pressure, and Pace
• Feedback and Communication About Incidents
• Communication During a Response