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Private and public hospitals

Public services are experiencing moreIt includes medical colleges and easy access
discerning and discriminating customers, whoto all kinds of medical care facilities.
may choose between private and public sectorThere is approximately one doctor for every
services. While there is sufficient evidence600 people; one nurse for every 225 people
indicating that private companies have higherand  one  hospital  bed for every 250 people.
productivity and profitability than public
ones, there is little research comparingThe government is the main provider of
service quality between the two sectors. Herehealthcare services in the UAE. The Ministry
we compare service quality between public andof Health started providing health services
private  hospitals.to the people of the UAE in 1974. The
government-funded health care system offers
The enhanced focus on customer satisfactionfree medical treatment to all citizens and
in contemporary marketing and managementsome subsidized services to expatriates.
sectors appears to have led to widespreadThere are more than 9,000 beds in government
attention for patient satisfaction in thehospitals and medical centers. On the other
more specialized healthcare sector. Thishand, the role of the private sector has been
trend is characterized by a move away fromincreasing. Patients tend to prefer private
the traditionally fragmented, episode-basedhospitals and clinics for their flexible
type of care, towards an emphasis on patientmeasures, less crowded facilities and rapid
satisfaction. In view of this trend, serviceprocedures in providing medical services.
quality and patient satisfaction have becomeThere are nine hospitals, 44 polyclinics and
critical for any healthcare organizationalmost  1,300  doctors in the private sector.
seeking to carve out a competitive advantage.
Indeed, the strategic importance of serviceThe difference between private and public
quality in healthcare has become widelyhospitals  in  the  UAE
recognized.
A questionnaire was developed to investigate
Despite the strategic importance of qualityservice quality at public and private
in the context of any healthcarehospitals. This questionnaire was distributed
organization, it is popularly perceived thatto 400 inpatients in the UAE and 205
substantial differences in quality existresponses were received. Factor analysis of
among healthcare providers. Researchresponses resulted in the five dimensions of
comparing healthcare providers on variousempathy, tangibles, reliability,
issues pertaining to service quality is,administrative responsiveness, and supporting
however,  limited.skills. These factors were all reliable.
Furthermore, with the exception of
A 22-item instrument, recognized as SERVQUALadministrative responsiveness, these factors
has become widely used as a genericshowed  strong  predictive  validity.
instrument for measuring service quality in
many service industries, including hotels,"There is a significant difference between
dentistry, travel, higher education, realprivate and public hospitals in service
estate, hospitals and construction services.quality."
The advantages of SERVQUAL include the
following:Comparisons of inpatient service quality
between private and public hospitals in the
It is accepted as a standard for assessingUAE reveal that inpatients are generally
different  dimensions  of  service  quality.unhappy with overall service quality, which
is not unusual in the healthcare industry.
It has been shown to be valid for a number ofManagers need to focus on reliability,
service  situations.including the ability to perform services as
promised and the skills of hospital
It has been demonstrated to be reliable,personnel.
meaning that different readers interpret the
questions  similarly.There is a significant difference between
private and public hospitals in service
The instrument is parsimonious in that it hasquality. Public hospitals have higher service
a limited number of items. This means thatquality than private hospitals, indicating
customers and employees can fill it outthat inpatients of public hospitals are
quickly.generally more satisfied than inpatients of
private hospitals. This is unexpected given
The instrument items represent the followingthe fact that people, the world over, go to
five  dimensions:private hospitals in order to receive higher
service quality. This is a serious problem
Empathyfor private hospitals, particularly given the
fact that reliability is the most important
Tangiblesdimension  of  service  quality.
ReliabilityThe problems faced by public and private
hospitals in service quality and particularly
Administrative  Responsivenessin its important dimension of reliability can
be addressed by training nurses, physicians
Supporting  Skillsand administrators on analysis of variations
which is not yet commonly employed in the
This instrument can be used by hospitalhealthcare sector. This includes the use of
managers to assess their service quality andgraphic methods and control charts.
identify the dimensions that needPhysicians should also be involved in
improvement.continuous learning programs to further
improve their knowledge in professional
Healthcare  in  the  United  Arab  Emiratessubject matters. Private hospitals need to
carefully design patient-oriented strategies
In the UAE the situation of healthcarefocusing on reliability improvement in order
services has completely changed since theto compete effectively with public hospitals
discovery of oil in 1962. The investment inthat enjoy great government patronage and
healthcare has been significantly increased.funding.



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