Effect of the Iranian hospital grading system on patients' and general practitioners' behaviour:An examination of awareness, belief and choice

Aryankhesal, Aidin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6695-227X and Sheldon, Trevor (2010) Effect of the Iranian hospital grading system on patients' and general practitioners' behaviour:An examination of awareness, belief and choice. Health Services Management Research, 23 (3). pp. 139-144. ISSN 0951-4848

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Abstract

There is considerable international interest in the use of performance measurement and their public release in order to improve the quality of care. However, few studies have assessed stakeholders' awareness and use of performance data. Iranian hospitals have been graded annually since 1998 and hospital hotel charges vary by grade, but this system has never been evaluated. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 104 outpatients at eight Teheran hospitals and 103 general practitioners (GPs) to assess the awareness of and attitudes towards hospital grading system. Only 5.8% of patients (95% CI: 1.3-10.3%) and 11.7% of GPs (95% CI: 5.5-17.9%) were aware of grading results. Patients' awareness was positively associated with their education level (P = 0.016). No patient used the grading results for choosing a hospital and only one GP (1%, 95% CI: 0-2%) reported using hospital grade to influence referral decisions. Patients were more influenced by hospitals' public reputation and that of their specialists. GPs believed that the grading system did not reflect the quality of care in hospitals. When developing performance measurement systems, public release of data should be accompanied by evaluation of its impact on awareness and health-care choices.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding Information: This study was a part of a PhD thesis, approved by the Health Sciences Research Governance Committee of the University of York. Aidin Aryankhesal is supported by a scholarship from the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education and Iran University of Medical Sciences by whom this study was sponsored.
Uncontrolled Keywords: health policy,sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2719
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 04 Nov 2022 09:31
Last Modified: 06 Jun 2024 15:21
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/89604
DOI: 10.1258/hsmr.2009.009028

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