Evaluating and Ranking Service Quality Factors in a Referral Clinic

Background and Objectives: Service quality evaluation is inevitable for the performance success of a health center. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and rank the quality of service factors in a selected referral clinic. Methods: The study participants were from a well-known referral clinic. The data collection tool was adopted based on the standard SERVQUAL questionnaire, customized for the circumstances and status of the clinic. The data were analyzed using nonparametric Wilcoxon and Friedman tests through SPSS v.23 software. In this research, the quality gap was obtained from the difference between expectations and perceptions (E-P). Findings: A total of 267 patients were examined. In each of the 6 dimensions evaluated in the SERVQUAL questionnaire, there was a significant difference between the mean of expectations and perceptions. The greatest gap was the accessibility dimension (1.41) and the lowest disparity was in empathy dimension (0.86). Based on Friedman test results, patients ranked the accessibility with 4.12 points as the most important dimension and the empathy with 2.90 as the least important dimension. Conclusions: There was a significant gap in all dimensions of the service quality of the studied clinic. Therefore, the patients’ expectations were not on par with the clinic services. Thus, the clinic needs to improve its services in all of the studied quality dimensions.