A growing body of evidence links the development of a culture of safety to a lower incidence of preventable errors in hospitalized patients. This AHRQ-funded study examined the relationship between safety culture (as measured by the AHRQ Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture) and patient satisfaction, and found evidence that a strong safety culture is associated with improved patient satisfaction scores. A prior study also found that family members of intensive care unit patients reported greater satisfaction with care at hospitals with higher safety culture measures, meaning that efforts to improve safety culture may also have positive effects on patient perceptions of the quality of care.