Investigation the quality of outpatient visits in public and private clinics of Tabriz city in 2018

Abstract

Background: An outpatient visit is the starting point for the treatment process, which its accuracy determines the outcome of the patient's treatment. Receiving a high quality visit improves the health outcomes of the patient as well as his/her satisfaction. Patient satisfaction is the main goal of the health system from the implementation of the Health System Evolution Plan (HSEP). This study aimed to investigate the quality of outpatient visits in selected public and private clinics in Tabriz. Material & Method: The present study is a cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic study which conducted in 2018. The research field consisted of all public and private clinics in Tabriz, among which the clinics of Imam Reza Hospital, Sheikh Al-Raeis and Shahid Taleghani Hospital from the public sector and clinics of BehboUd Hospital and Tabriz International Hospital from the private sector, were selected randomly. The sample size was estimated at 384 people. The visit quality questionnaire whit three parts (including structure, process and outcome) was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics through SPSS version 22. Findings: A total of 194 questionnaires were collected from public clinics and 192 questionnaires from private clinics. The mean of structural quality in public and private clinics was 75.60 and 50.26, respectively. The mean of process quality in public clinics was 84.08 and in private clinics were 81.58. 77.45% of patients in public health clinics and 77.6% of patients in private clinics were satisfied with the outcomes of the visit. In total, the overall quality of services in public health clinics is 79.4% and private clinics are 69.64%.The mean of waiting time before visit by a physician in public and private clinics was 141.21 and 156.44 minutes, respectively. The mean duration of visits in public clinics was 25.56 and in private clinics was 25.14 minutes. Conclusion: The overall quality of services in public and private clinics was at the moderate level. The overall visit quality of public clinics was better than private ones. The mean duration of the visit was more appropriate than the previous studies, and was even higher than the standards, but the average waiting time for patients was high.