Prioritizing the Quality Criteria of Hospital Services from the View of Service Providers and Recipients

Providing health services is one of the most important priorities of a health system. Since the hospital organization is the prominent sector in a health system, the quality of services has higher impact from the point of view of service providers and patients. The aim of this was to study the prioritization and agreement of hospital service providers and receivers towards 6 dimensions- human resources, equipment and physical space, information, communication and training, access to service and care, respect towards values and emotional support, and system management and coordination.
In this descriptive-analytical study the quality criteria of hospital services from the perspective of 377 service providers and receivers were studied. Samples were selected using multi-stage sampling. Data was collected by a researcher-made questionnaire to prioritize quality standards from the point of view of service providers and receivers. The content of the questionnaire was confirmed using content, with acceptable significant level (p The most agreement in six dimensions were allocated to dimension of human resource including sub dimensions as knowledge, expertise, and skills of physicians, nurses and other caregivers (80%). In human resource dimension, both service providers and recipients had the same opinion on the first and second priorities. In dimension of equipment and physical space, information, communication and education, emotional support and respect for the values both service providers and recipient were agreed on the second and third priorities.
Determination of quality criteria according to the views of service providers and receivers on various communities with regard to social, economic and cultural is very important. Therefore, it is desirable to start plan the health services, particularly hospital services to be noted. By setting quality standards and incorporate it in the assessment and accreditation of hospitals can ensure to achieve the goal of improving the quality of hospital services.