Exploring the perceptions of healthcare quality among Lebanese stakeholders

This study used two surveys to explore the gap in service quality between recently established hospital accreditation standards and the perceptions of healthcare providers as well as customer groups of a premier nonprofit teaching hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. The SERVQUAL survey has been proven to highlight the dissimilarities between partialities of consumers and their tangible experience, thereby identifying areas needing improvement (Pakdil & Harwood, 2005). The Kanji Business Excellence Model (KBEM) survey has been proven to measure quality performance as perceived by stakeholders, including physicians, nurses and administrators. In comparing the two survey results, this study distinguished the characteristics of quality most vital to each stakeholder group. Three focus groups comprised of healthcare stakeholders compared the findings of the SERVQUAL and KBEM surveys as against the accreditation standards in order to identify opportunities for improvement. In this way, the study established whether perceived quality matches the quality accrediting organizations anticipate per their established standards. The results of the study showed that, although the designated hospital in Beirut, Lebanon was awarded both national accreditation which is the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and international accreditation which is the Joint Commission International (JCI), respectively; gaps existed in every quality dimension. Analysis by the three focus groups revealed the corrections needed in human resource management and organizational structure to close the service quality gaps. While the accreditation standards provided a fair assessment of the quality of care expected and provided, this well-regarded Lebanese hospital still has service shortfalls that can and must be remedied to remain the premier, nonprofit, teaching hospital.