[ 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

[Seven dimensions of accountability in Iran's teaching hospitals: a national study]

Accountability is a process by which all service organizations including hospitals are required to legitimize their activities. This research aims to study the seven aspects of accountability in Iran's teaching hospitals. This is a cross-sectional analytic study performed in the second half of 1390 in five major medical-educational hospitals in 5 points of the country. A research-made questionnaire with seven dimensions [ethical, cultural, financial, operational, legal, informational, and structural] was used. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The total number of subjects was 454, of whom 45.6% were males and the rest were females [n = 247]. They were mostly [40.1%] in the age group of 21- to 29-year-olds, and the least figure [6.8%] pertained to those older than 50 years of age. The average mean of structure turned out to be the highest [3.54 +/- 0.97] and the informational dimension had the lowest [3.45 +/- 0.97]. The average accountability score was the highest in Rasht hospital [99.3 +/- 0.61] and the lowest in Tehran hospital [3.02 +/- 0.67]. The correlations between all dimensions were confirmed. Moreover, accountability as evaluated in the studied educational hospitals was above average. Patients' attitude towards accountability in Iran's teaching hospitals was assessed to be above average. The findings show that an office or a unit for accountability, validation, and continuous audit of its dimensions is essential to advance the high goals of the hospitals

[Effect of food distribiution training on the amount of food residuals in Tehran Boali Hospital in 2010]

The increase of food residuals specially in hospital can lead to a decrease in food intake and customer satisfaction and also increase the cost of remedy and hospitalization. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of food service training of food staff on the amount of food residuals to improve hospital catering. This was cross sectional study. The study population consisted of staff and patients in orthopedic, chemotherapy and surgery wards and their relatives [n=130]. The tools of this study were satisfaction survey questionnaire and food residual observational checklist. Questionnaires were completed by the study population and observational checklist by the researchers. Data were analysed using SPSS Software. Significant difference were observed between the amount of food residual before and after personnel training [t=-5/36, p=0/001].The average amount of food remaining in the breakfast from 1/8 in pre-teaching was decreased to 0/7, at lunch from 2/09 to1/89 and in dinner time from 2/2 to 1/6. It seems that educational planning of personnel could increase their knowledge about their duties and weaknesses and improves quality performance which leads to customer satisfaction and hospital profitability