Assessment of Patient-Centered Care with Reference to Minimum Service Delivery Standards in District Headquarter Hospitals of Azad Jammu Kashmir

Abstract

Objective: To assess the existing healthcare and delivery services and to evaluate the factors that affect the effectiveness of the care of patients.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Seven Districts Headquarter Hospitals of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan from Dec 2020 to May 2021.

Methodology: The data were collected using a questionnaire based on the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) set standards by Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) for monitoring and evaluating the services delivery at the hospitals. Data were collected by observing every department of the hospital, interviewing the concerned person of every department, and checking the medical record of the hospital.

Results: All the seven DHQ hospitals including DHQ Neelum, DHQ Hattian Bala, DHQ Pallandari, DHQ Bagh, DHQ Kotli, DHQ Bhimber, and DHQ Mirpur were working throughout the week and service delivery was ensured for 24 hours in all health facilities. It was observed in this study that the management of medication was the area with the highest degree of compliance (76.2%). On the other hand, the area involving patient rights and education showed the lowest level of compliance with an average score of 6 and a percentage compliance of 25%.

Conclusion: The compliance of health delivery services with respect to MSDS was very low in district headquarter hospitals of AJK. Targeted strategies are needed to improve the overall quality of the service delivery.