The annual report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that hospitals around the country still need to do much work to improve the existing safety culture in their facilities, so that health care professionals are not punished for reporting errors.  The report also finds great room for improvement in safety during handoffs and shift transfers.

The annual report titled the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture 2011 User Comparative Database Report analyzed data acquired from staff at more than 1,000 hospitals around the country.  There were some very interesting findings for Arizona medical practice attorneys. 

The good news was that 80% of the staff members reported that they experienced strong teamwork in their units, while 75% said that many of their patient safety suggestions were considered by supervisors.

The bad news was that too many hospitals continue to remain vague about their policies on reporting of medical errors.  Only 44% of the hospital staff who participated in the survey said that they believed that the organization had a non-punitive attitude to errors, meaning that errors or mistakes that were reported would not be recorded on the files, or held against them.  That shows that there are far too many staff members who may be wary of reporting errors, because of the fear of punishment in any form.

This could possibly also be linked to the finding that 54% of the hospital staff reported no adverse events in their hospitals over the past year.  To Arizona medical malpractice attorneys, it seems suspiciously like errors have possibly been underreported, possibly because of the fear that hospital staff have about punishment. 

45% of the respondents in the survey said that they believed that hospitals could do much better to improve safety during shift transfers, and improve transfers across hospital unit.  The report recommends that hospitals share the results of this survey with their staff members, encourage units to share ideas about the best practices for preventing errors, and monitor progress.