Prioritization of the affecting components of the patient experience evaluation of healthcare services using fuzzy analytic hierarchy process

Introduction: Service quality is one of the most important management aspects of service organizations, and customer-centricity is the first strategy of all organizations worldwide. Therefore, the present study aimed to Prioritization of the affecting components of the patient experience evaluation of healthcare services in hospitals affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2022. The data collection instrument included a researcher-made questionnaire including questions on demographic variables and pairwise comparison tables consisting of 12 dimensions related to the components affecting the patient experience evaluation, which 30 members of the expert panel answered. The expert panel members included heads and managers of hospitals, managers and executive experts of hospitals, and faculty members of health and medical services management. The collected data were analyzed using Excel software to compare and rank the contribution of each factor affecting the Prioritization of the patient experience evaluation of healthcare services using fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. Results: According to the panel of experts, the quality of the nurse-patient relationship was the most critical priority (0.28), followed by the quality of the physician-patient relationship (0.24), provision of medical services (0.17), provision of information to the Patient (0.09) and method of pain management (0.07). The lowest priority was access to the necessary medications (0.0004). Conclusion: According to the results of the present research, hospital managers can have the most significant effect on improving the quality of hospital services and, thus, patient satisfaction by employing experienced and specialized nurses and physicians or by empowering them to establish better communication with patients and provide better medical services.