Chart 2. Item-Level Comparative Results From 470 Medical Offices (Text Description)

2010 Preliminary Comparative Results

Item	Survey Items by Patient Safety Culture	Average % Positive Response
1. Teamwork
C1	1. When someone in this office gets really busy, others help out.	83%
C2	2. In this office, there is a good working relationship between staff and providers.	87%
C5	3. In this office, we treat each other with respect.	80%
C13	4. This office emphasizes teamwork in taking care of patients.	80%
2. Patient Care Tracking/Follow-up
D3	1. This office reminds patients when they need to schedule an appointment for preventive or routine care.	78%
D5	2. This office documents how well our chronic-care patients follow their treatment plans.	65%
D6	3. Our office follows up when we do not receive a report we are expecting from an outside provider.	77%
D9	4. This office follows up with patients who need monitoring.	86%
3. Organizational Learning
F1	1. When there is a problem in our office, we see if we need to change the way we do things.	82%
F5	2. This office is good at changing office processes to make sure the same problems don't happen again.	75%
F7	3. After this office makes changes to improve the patient care process, we check to see if the canges worked.	67%
4. Overall Perceptions of Patient Safety and Quality
F2	1. Our office processes are good at preventing mistakes that could affect patients.	79%
F3R	2. Mistakes happen more than they should in this office.	70%
F4R	3. It is just by chance that we don't make more mistakes that affect our patients.	74%
F6R	4. In this office, getting more work done is more important than quality of care.	73%
5. Staff Training
C4	1. This office trains staff when new processes are put into place.	75%
C7	2. This office makes sure staff get the on-the-job training they need.	71%
C10R	3. Staff in this office are asked to do tasks they haven't been trained to do.	69%
6. Owner/Managing Partner/Leadership Support for Patient Safety
E1R	1. They aren't investing enough resources to improve the quality of care in this office.	51%
E2R	2. They overlook patient care mistakes that happen over and over.	79%
E3	3. They place a high priority on improving patient care processes.	78%
E4R	4. They make decisions too often based on what is best for the office rather than what is best for patients.	61%
7. Communication about Error
D7R	1. Staff feel like their mistakes are held against them.	57%
D8	2. Providers and staff talk openly about office problems.	59%
D11	3. In this office, we discuss ways to prevent errors from happening again.	78%
D12	4. Staff are willing to report mistakes they observe in this office.	72%
8. Communication Openness
D1	1. Providers in this office are open to staff ideas about how to improve office processes.	69%
D2	2. Staff are encouraged to express alternative viewpoints in this office.	68%
D4R	3. Staff are afraid to ask questions when something does not seem right.	70%
D10R	4. It is difficult to voice disagreement in this office.	53%
9. Patient Safety and Quality Issues In your best estimate, how often did the following things happen in your medical office over the past 12 months?
Access to Care
A1	1. A patient was unable to get an appointment within 48 hours for an acute/serious problem.	69%
Patient Identification
A2	2. The wrong chart/medical record was used for a patient.	86%
Charts/Medical Records
A3	3. A patient's chart/medical record was not available when needed.	63%
A4	4. Medical information was filed, scanned, or entered into the wrong patient's chart/medical record.	70%
Medical Equipment
A5	5. Medical equipment was not working properly or was in need of repair or replacement.	73%
Medication
A6	6. A pharmacy contacted our office to clarify or correct a prescription.	22%
A7	7. A patient's medication list was not updated during his or her visit.	44%
Diagnostics & Tests
A8	8. The results from a lab or imaging test were not available when needed.	39%
A9	9. A critical abnormal result from a lab or imaging test was not followed up within 1 business day.	79%

10. Office Processes and Standardization
C8R	1. This office is more disorganized than it should be.	58%
C9	2. We have good procedures for checking that work in this office was done correctly.	60%
C12R	3. We have problems with workflow in this office.	47%
C15	4. Staff in this office follow standardized processes to get tasks done.	74%
11. Information Exchange with Other Settings Over the past 12 months, how often has your medical office had problems exchanging accurate, complete, and timely information with:
B1	1. Outside labs/imaging centers?	55%
B2	2. Other medical offices/outside physicians?	50%
B3	3. Pharmacies?	52%
B4	4. Hospitals?	58%
B5	4. Other? (Specify)	70%
12. Work Pressure and Pace
C3R	1. In this office, we often feel rushed when taking care of patients.	28%
C6R	2. We have too many patients for the number of providers in this office.	46%
C11	3. We have enough staff to handle our patient load.	49%
C14R	4. This office has too many patients to be able to handle everything effectively.	59%

Note: The item's survey location is shown to the left. An "R" indicates a negatively worded item, where the percent positive response is based on those who responded "Strongly disagree" or "Disagree," or "Never" or "Rarely" (depending on the response category used for the item).

Page last reviewed November 2010

Internet Citation: Chart 2. Item-Level Comparative Results From 470 Medical Offices (Text Description): 2010 Preliminary Comparative Results. November 2010. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. https://archive.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/patientsafetyculture/medical-office/2010/mo10ch2txt.html