• Faris S Alghamdi.
• Faculty of Financial and Administrative Sciences, Business Administration Department, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tel. +966 (17) 7274111. Fax +966 (17) 7274264. E-mail. farissg@hotmail.com.
• Saudi Med J. 2014 Oct 1; 35 (10): 1271-3.

ObjectivesTo examine the impact of service quality perception on patient satisfaction and determine  which dimension from 5 dimensions (tangible, reliability, responsive, assurance, and empathy) has the greatest impact on patient satisfaction.MethodsA total of 183 eligible patients participated in this study. This study was conducted in Al-Baha province, Saudi Arabia from June 2013 to August 2013. We utilized the cross-sectional method, using a modified Assessment of Service Quality questionnaire to collect the data.ResultsTo test the study hypothesis, multiple regression analysis was carried out. Analysis of variance revealed that the overall result showed a statistically significant impact of health service quality on patient satisfaction (p=0.000). The beta-weights (beta) suggested that the empathy dimension had the greatest influence on patient satisfaction (beta=0.476), followed by tangible (beta=0.198) and responsiveness dimensions (beta=0.164).ConclusionPatient satisfaction was influenced by health service quality, with the empathy dimension as the greatest influence on patient satisfaction. Therefore, it should be considered a priority by government hospitals to train doctors in interpersonal relationship skills to enhance the doctor-patient relationship. 

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