[ impact of service quality on the loyalty of patients referring to outpatient clinics of studied hospitals in Tehran]

The present case study aims to investigate the impact of service quality on patients' loyalty to the services rendered in outpatient clinics of the studied hospitals throughout Tehran. This is a descriptive-analytical survey in which 242 outpatients referring to the studied hospital clinics in Tehran. For data collection purposes, the standardized SERVQUAL questionnaire[1988] and for the measurement of loyalty for service quality, the standard questionnaire for customer's behavioral tendencies[Zitamel and Berry, 1996] were used. Regarding the validity of the questionnaire, its content validity was confirmed; and its reliability was approved through test-retest method and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. For data analysis, Pearson correlation test was employed. The results revealed that there was a positive and meaningful relationship between the quality of services and the patients' loyalty in Tehran clinics. The most important aspect of loyalty was complaining behavior. Hospital managers should enhance their understanding and awareness to maintain, and even improve, the patients' loyalty to their services and should do their best in this regard. Hospital employees should be aware of the patients' expectations and act beyond it. Finally, they should know that rendering services to patients is teamwork and that the key to providing patients with good services lies in their satisfaction with the quality of services they receive

[Assessment of health care services in outpatient clinics based on SERVQUAL model in hospitals of Tehran]

The provision of high-quality services is considered as a prerequisite to the success of responsible organizations. Using SERVQUAL model, the present article seeks to delve into the quality of services provided in outpatient clinics as judged by patients in case-study hospitals throughout Tehran. This is a cross-sectional descriptive research in which 242 subjects were studied at the outpatient clinics under investigation throughout Tehran using a standardized questionnaire named SERVQUAL [1988]. The results of a t-test revealed a meaningful difference between the patients' perception and their expectation about 5 factors [tangible elements, reliability, assurance, accountability and collaboration] affecting the quality of services in clinics. The patients rated 'assurance' as the most important factor [4.41] and 'accountability' as the least important of the 5 factors [2.21]. The results indicate that the application of SERVQUAL model enables hospital managers to evaluate the quality of services as evaluated by patients as their most important clients and enhance the quality of such services through proper planning and removal of deficiencies