Assessing the quality of performance of general practitioners from the perspective of clinic patients of contracts with health insurance organization in Tehran in 2015 to 2016

Monitoring the quality of services in the insurance service purchase can be crucial for improving patients' satisfaction, avoiding unnecessary referral to health centers and Subsequent expenditure, and imposing them on insurance. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of public health clinic services.

This cross-sectional study was performed in Tehran during 2015, 2016 years. The research population consisted of patients referred to general practitioners in Tehran. A multi-stage cluster method was used for sampling. Overall, 394 samples were obtained from patients referred to general practitioners were included in the study. Researcher-made questionnaire was the data collection method. The questionnaire was prepared based on interviews with experts. The collected data were analyzed statistically using SPSS 22 software.

Based on the results of the research, the quality score of the clinics from 125 to 160 defined in the high range and the importance of quality dimensions from the viewpoint of patients from 131 to 160 were placed in the high range as well. Examining the service quality dimensions indicated, access point (85.5%) and then effectiveness (85.3%) were earned the highest score. Moreover, the effectiveness was earned the highest score in terms of importance. The results showed, a significant relationship between income level and questions of importance. It seems that, quality items are considered different for people according to their income.

Findings of this study indicate that, patients referring to general practitioners high-rated the received services' quality. The results of this evaluation can lead to improvement in the quality of services and reduce the burden on visits for insured persons and also reduce charges imposed on duplicate visits. Besides, it can lead to active purchasing for the health insurance organization.