Withdrawn

Abstract

This paper addresses the quality of private healthcare services in the western region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and provides a comprehensive analysis of the customer requirement to improve the quality of these services. The study begins by reviewing literature on the subject of quality in general and then in terms of the service and healthcare sectors. To assess the healthcare system, the paper then presents the literature on accreditation, which is a tool for healthcare quality assessment. Past studies in healthcare are also reviewed. The voice of the customer (VOC) is an essential factor in this study, so the quality function deployment (QFD) tool was implemented to satisfy the customer requirements. A customer focus group was used to determine the VOC, and a survey of 300 samples was conducted to assess the importance of each requirement. The study implemented four houses, which represent the four phases of a comprehensive QFD. The results of the study show that there are two main factors that affect the private healthcare system in the (KSA): management and the recording and flow of information. The study suggests several ways to improve the management and information issues of the healthcare system in (KSA).