Quality Assessment Methods of Hospital Services from the Viewpoint of Patients Based on Standard Assessment Models in Iran: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Background: Controlling and measuring the quality of health services is the first necessary step in providing good services. Hospitals, as the most critical healthcare organization in various countries and communities, need assessment most. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the quality assessment methods of hospital services from the patients’ viewpoints based on standard assessment models in Iran. Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted in IranDoc, SID, Magiran, IranMedex, PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL, and the World Health Organization (WHO) databases. The relevant English and Persian publications were selected between January 1994 and December 2020. The quality of studies was assessed using the STROBE checklist. A total of 212 articles were found, of which 48 articles related to the purpose of the study were selected according to the inclusion criteria. Quality assessment and data extraction and analysis were performed for all studies. Results: One of the most widely used methods for assessing the quality of hospital services was the standard SERVQUAL model to assess customer expectations and perceptions of service quality. Conclusions: The SERVQUAL tool appropriately assesses patients' satisfaction with hospital services. Therefore, it can be used along with other health system stakeholders' views to assess the quality of hospital services.