Perspective of patients on quality of healthcare in private general practice in Selangor

Background and Aims: Quality in healthcare is one of the major concerns of the healthcare service industry which contributes significantly to the economy. The objective of the present research was to study the perspective ofpatients on the quality of health care in private general practice in Selangor, Malaysia. Materials and methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 461 patients attending 10 private clinics using convenience sampling technique in Selangor district, Malaysia. The data was collected using well-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics was done. Results: Majority of the study group, (51.0%) were in the age group of 21 to 30 years. Females formed 70.1% of our study group and 352(76.4%) hailed from urban areas. Of the five parameters of quality studied, majority of the patients (91.84%) were satisfied with the responsiveness of the healthcare personnel,76.4% were satisfied with their communication skills, 81.73% were happy with the credibility and confidentiality while 81.2% were satisfied with accessibility of the healthcare facility. Only 69.6% were satisfied with the empathy demonstrated by the healthcare workers. Conclusion: This study shows that most of the patients were contented with the services rendered to them though there is scope for further improvement. It furnishes useful feedback to the healthcare personnel and those involved in the training of the future generation of healthcare workers in Malaysia.