Journal of Tourism and Development

Journal of Tourism and Development

The Evaluation of Hospital Services Quality in Qom Province with the Approach of Medical Tourism Development by Combination of Fuzzy AHP and TODIM Methods.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Jalal Rezaeenour 1
Mohammadreza Mohabbati 2
Mohammad Hossein Masoumi 2
1 Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Technology and Engineering, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.
2 Department of Industrial Engineering,Faculty of Technology and Engineering, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.
Abstract
Medical tourism is one the most significant fields related to tourism, which is now considered by many developed and developing countries. Before planning on developing this industry, it is essential to identify its weaknesses and strengths. The current research is a cross-sectional and analytical-descriptive study, the aim of which is to assess the quality of services provided by 4 significant hospitals in Qom city to compare them together and identify their weaknesses and strengths. The importance of the criteria was determined by 18 experts (3 physicians, 5 tourism activists, 10 foreign students) and Fuzzy AHP method, and qualitative assessment of services was done by completing 100 questionnaires by patients. Then, the hospitals were ranked by TODIM method. Due to the results, some cases such the lack of new equipment, Imbalance in price and quality of residential centers near the hospital, etc. are weaknesses, and the others such price and quality of medical services, suitable performance in treatment, etc. are strengths.
Keywords
Medical tourism
Health tourism
Quality of Medical Services
TODIM method