Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) recently finalized a ruling to make the US Government’s Agency for Healthcare Research (AHRQ) Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) mandatory for hospitals and ambulatory service centers (ASCs) to conduct. With PRC as an approved administrator and vendor of the AHRQ SOPS®, we encourage all hospitals and health systems to learn more about this important study in furthering safety and excellence in the healthcare experience.
What is AHRQ SOPS®?
The SOPS® survey was introduced by AHRQ in 2001 with the purpose of “advancing the scientific understanding of patient safety culture in healthcare settings.” This survey is administered to care teams to gather the perceptions on patient safety from the viewpoint of hospital staff. Employees can take the survey via computer or mobile device with the study usually taking around 10 minutes to complete.
Visit AHRQ’s official website to learn more about SOPS®.
What are the Latest Updates?
AHCA finalized its “59A-35.115: Patient Safety Surveys” ruling that mandates hospitals and ambulatory service centers (ASCs) in the state to administer the AHRQ SOPS®. Originally passed in 2020 and effective January 26, 2023, organizations now have to submit AHRQ survey data on a two-year cadence to AHCA for public reporting, including questions surrounding medical staff’s likelihood to select the facility in their own healthcare needs.
Visit AHCA’s official website to view the full ruling and additional documents for yourself.
How Can PRC Help?
PRC is proud to be a fully-approved AHRQ SOPS® vendor. Partnering with a third-party vendor provides an advantage to increase participation by offering your employees an independent and neutral outlet for candid dialogue surrounding sensitive topics. We work to make the AHRQ survey process as easy as possible for you, compiling the data alongside AHRQ’s benchmarks and submitting the results on your organization’s behalf. As experts in employee experience research, we offer the option to include additional questions in your AHRQ survey administration that measure engagement and organizational loyalty to paint your facility a well-rounded picture of your employee culture. Our support extends beyond survey administration, providing user-friendly data reporting and action planning resources for you.
Visit our AHRQ page to learn more about our SOPS® offerings, and contact us today to begin the AHRQ conversation for your organization.
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Sources and Further Reading:
AHCA’s 59A-35.115 : Patient Safety Surveys ruling