a study of non-medical aspects of health services provided to patients in selected hospitals of isfahan: responsiveness

introduction: good relationships between patients and doctors and other health professionals have long been seen as the bedrock of patient satisfaction. in addition to important health care outcomes, health systems must also meet the non-medical expectations of the community. this study aimed to survey the accountability and non-medical service provision in selected hospitals in isfahan methods: this was a descriptive, retrospective study conducted in eight selected public and private hospitals in isfahan during 2010. the statistical population included 320 inpatients and nurses selected through stratified random sampling. data was collected was by the world health organization (who) questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by professors and administrators. the reliability of the questionnaire was also calculated to be 0.89 by cronbach's alpha. data was analyzed by spss. results: the mean score of accountability from the viewpoints of nurses and patients was 2.3 ± 0.54 and 2.48 ± 0.58 (out of a maximum of 4), respectively. nurses and patients respectively considered confidentiality (2.41 ± 0.8) and access to social support during the hospitalization period (2.62 ± 0.9) as the best aspects of non-medical services. however, choice of therapist and physical facilities of the treatment centers were determined as weak points by the patients and nurses, respectively. conclusion: since patients and nurses had almost identical perceptions toward the non-medical services. therefore, in order to enhance service quality, which is of great importance to the who, more attention needs to be paid to accountability mechanisms and better quality services. key words: quality of healthcare; patient; patient care; hospitals.