Service Quality in Iran’s Medical Tourism: Hospitals in Shiraz City

Maryam Gholami,Alireza Jabbari,Marjan Gholami,Zahra Kavosi

doi:10.20286/ijtmgh-040119

Abstract

Introduction: Medical tourism is a main source of national income. Thus, evaluating the viewpoints of medical tourists about the quality of service provided by healthcare centers may be useful in planning to develop this industry. The present study aimed to measure the gap between medical tourists' expectations and perceptions of the quality of service offered by the hospitals in Shiraz using the SERVQUAL model. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 200 medical tourists referred to hospitals in the city of Shiraz which is located in the south of Iran. The subjects were selected randomly over the first 6 months of 2013. Data collection tools were a descriptive questionnaire and an adaptation of the SERVQUAL questionnaire. Results: The results showed that the mean age of medical tourists was 49.67 and most of them were from Oman. Overall, the patients' expectations exceeded their perceptions of the provided quality of service, and all gap mean scores were negative. The largest negative gap score pertained to reliability with an overall average of -0.59, followed by responsibility, assurance, tangibility, empathy, and access to care. Conclusion: The research findings can effectively help managers identify problems with the current quality of service and improve performance so as to increase the medical tourists' satisfaction level. Also, highlighting the most important service attributes, which are highly attractive to patients, will help authorities improve their operation performance and develop innovative ideas on both strategic and tactical levels.

Highlights

Medical tourism is a main source of national income
The present study aimed to measure the gap between medical tourists' expectations and perceptions of the quality of service offered by the hospitals in Shiraz using the SERVQUAL model
This cross-sectional study was performed on 200 medical tourists referred to hospitals in the city of Shiraz which is located in the south of Iran

Summary

Introduction

Medical tourism is a main source of national income. evaluating the viewpoints of medical tourists about the quality of service provided by healthcare centers may be useful in planning to develop this industry. The present study aimed to measure the gap between medical tourists' expectations and perceptions of the quality of service offered by the hospitals in Shiraz using the SERVQUAL model. The patients' expectations exceeded their perceptions of the provided quality of service, and all gap mean scores were negative. The travel, tourism, and hospitality industry is one of the main sources of global gross domestic product (GDP) and an important employment generator [1]. Most governments regard it as a guideline for the development of the country [2]. Reasons for this phenomenon include long waiting lists in developed countries, low cost of medical treatment in developing countries, affordable cost of international transportation, development of the Internet, emergence of international communication companies which act as intermediaries between patients and hospital networks and make it easy for patients to access information and prices; and advanced technologies which are new to healthcare services [5]

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