Quality and Performance of Public Hospital Services in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review

Author(s): Yousef Alluhaymid, Ahmed Alabdrabalnabi

Objectives:

This study carries out a systematic literature review to examine the quality and performance of public hospital services in Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Methods:

The study used a systematic review approach, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations. Studies that have examined the quality and performance of healthcare in KSA public hospitals were identified and reviewed through online searches. Different databases were used, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Web of Sciences, and Cochrane.

Results:

A total of 12 of 120 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. Most of the studies showed low quality and performance regarding the five dimensions (reliability, tangibility, assurance, responsiveness, and empathy) or did not meet the patient’s expectations. Hence, the analysis concluded that the quality of services the public hospitals delivered was unsatisfactory, which negatively affected the performance. The study also identified issues such as poor staffing, poor communication and hospital non-punitive response to errors, lack of up-to-date training, and failures of leadership due to factors such as Ineffective hospital management, weak administrative leadership, and lack of strategic planning.

Conclusions:

This review showed that the Ministry of Health (MOH) has been investing in healthcare quality in KSA, but findings showed that they are yet to achieve those goals. Hence, public hospital management should develop monitoring services to improve patients’ perspectives. Moreover, the effect of the service quality dimensions on patients’ perception and hospital performance provides direction to develop a quality management model in public hospitals.