Using SERVQUAL Model to Assess Hospital Information System Service Quality

Background: Assessment of hospital information system (HIS) service quality helps to meet the needs of users and a strategy to expand the interaction between HIS developers and the users. SERVQUAL is an extensively used technique to measure the service quality of information systems. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess HIS service quality by the SERVQUAL model in the teaching hospitals affiliated to Urmia University of Medical Sciences (UMSU). Methods: This study is a descriptive analysis carried out in UMSU teaching hospitals in 2017. The sample was comprised of 270 users selected randomly via multi-stage cluster sampling. The modified SERVQUAL questionnaire, which included five dimensions, was used to collect data. The gap between the perceptions and the expectations of the users was calculated and the significance of scores was tested. Results: The highest quality gaps in the five dimensions were related to responsiveness (-1.52) and reliability (-1.34) and also the lowest quality gap was related to tangibles (-0.95). There were significant differences between perceptions and expectations of the users in all SERVQUAL dimensions (P < 0.001). This implied that the quality of the delivered services was lower than what the users expected. Conclusions: Given the greatest gap in responsiveness and reliability, it is essential that HIS vendors focus on providing HIS support and updating services and allocate IT staff with the right knowledge and skills to provide the trust needed to use HIS services in the users.