Quality management and healthcare management

Abstract

The current health policies that place a strong emphasis on patient care quality include clinical governance and enhanced methods of human resource management. In addition to increasing resource efficiency, identifying and minimizing medical errors while maximizing the use of effective care and improving outcomes, and aligning care to what users/patients want in addition to what they need, there are many other reasons why it is crucial to improve the quality of healthcare. The quality of healthcare is ultimately judged by how well it meets the needs and satisfaction levels of the patient, or more broadly, society. To improve quality, we need to start by examining how well healthcare organizations are currently fulfilling these needs. In recent times, the focus of quality assessment has shifted towards patient satisfaction, as well as the structural, procedural, and result-based aspects of healthcare delivery. When we talk about quality, we are not just referring to the medical science part of it. The delivery of healthcare services, along with the societal and personal concerns, is equally important in determining quality. The quality improvement initiative has started to gradually put the idea into action. Holding healthcare institutions responsible for the services they deliver is a growing societal concern. In response, the healthcare industry is emphasizing the need to identify urgent societal needs and cultivate strong leadership. It also recognizes the benefits of voluntary commitment to quality. The SERVQUAL method, which is frequently used in the fields of service quality and healthcare management, focuses on assessing the discrepancy between consumers' expectations and impressions of the service they received. Five criteria are used to assess service quality in this method: dependability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore and compare the gap between patient expectations and v perceptions, and identify the factors that affect the quality, satisfaction, and loyalty of patients in healthcare units like Hospitals and Clinics in Porto, Portugal.

Date of Award	27 Oct 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Aydin Teymourifar (Supervisor)