The Impact of Outsourcing in Terms of Access and Quality of Health Services from Participants Attitude

Abstract

Reduced productivity and increased costs force governmental and private organizations and enterprises to use various strategies to be effective. While, in addition to the above mentioned, governmental organizations are faced with some more cases. One of these cases is stewardship activity, which compels them to increase outsourcing services. On the basis of the increasing healthcare system efficiency, outsourcing of services was proposed and performed as one of the strategic doctrine in health services of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The authors aimed to collect information from health sectors in order to describe participants’ attitudes towards the availability of the health services by establishing associative health centers. In this cross-sectional study, access and quality were assessed using a valid and reliable questionnaire "attitude evaluation of service recipients in associative health centers towards access and quality of healthcare services". Issues such as distance, time and cost in the dimension of access and also quality of the physical space, equipment, human resource, and services in the dimension of quality were evaluated from the view point of recipients of associative health centers in South of Tehran, Rey and Eslamshahr health networks. Adults (n=380) referring to the associative health centers completed the questionnaire. Chi-square test was used to compare the difference between participants’ attitude towards these three health networks. A positive attitude towards improvement of distance and time of access to health centers, and reduction of costs by establishing associative health centers were observed. Also positive attitude towards quality of physical space, equipment, human resource, and services was found. The findings indicate that inauguration of associative health centers has an effective role on increasing the access and quality of healthcare for the population covered by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Accordingly, in the case of continuing of outsourcing and stability of allocating credit, good and high quality services can be provided.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.24.4.4749