A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTING TQM IN THE PRIMARY HEALTHCARE CENTERS AND EXAMINING ITS IMPACT ON PATIENT SATISFACTION.

Purpose? the purpose of this paper is to assess the level of implementing total quality management (TQM) in the accredited primary healthcare centers in Dubai and investigate the relationship between TQM practices and patient satisfaction as perceived by senior employees? perspectives. Design/methodology/approach? The data were collected from senior employees across different healthcare centers in Dubai using a self-administered questionnaire which was distributed to 169 senior employees. Of the 169 drop off survey questionnaires, 92 usable questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 65.1 per cent. A convenience sampling technique was used to obtain data from the twelve-targeted healthcare centers. The data was analyzed using factor analysis, Pearson?s product moment correlation and multiple regression analyses. Findings? The findings revealed that the level of TQM implementation in the primary healthcare centers in Dubai was very high. In addition, results revealed that leadership, human resource focus, information and analysis, strategic planning, and customer focus were found to have significant and positive effects on patient satisfaction. Research limitations/implications? The limitations identified for this paper are (First) this study was limited only to the healthcare service context; (Second) this study was conducted ata single point in time as a cross-sectional study; (Third) only one business performance key was identified in this study which is patient satisfaction. Finally, this study used only survey questionnaire as a main data collection tool. Practical implications? This paper can increase the awareness of the significance of TQM strategy, which could help healthcare managers to have a better understanding of the benefits of implementing TQM and therefore enable patient satisfaction within their organizations. Originality/value? This paper contributes to the current TQM literature by bridging the gap and highlighting the significance of TQM implementation in contributing to patient satisfaction within the healthcare industry.