The impact of total quality service (TQS) on healthcare and patient satisfaction: An empirical study of Turkish private and public hospitals Ismail Bakan, Tuba Buyukbese * and Burcu Ersahan Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Kahramanmaras, Turkey SUMMARY This paper attempts to measure patients’ perceptions of the quality of services in public and pri- vate healthcare centers in Turkey. The main aim was to examine the impact of the dimensions of patient-perceived total quality service (TQS) on patients’ satisfaction. The research framework and hypotheses are derived from a literature review of service quality and quality in the healthcare industry. The research data were collected through questionnaires and then statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation and linear regression. The results suggest that service quality perceptions positively influence patient satisfaction with overall hospital care (SOHC). The most important factors identified in the regression model regarding patient SOHC are the quality of the hospital’s social responsibility, administrative processes and overall experience of medical care received. These factors explain 74% of the variance in SOHC. The findings of the study can be used to improve TQS in both private and public hospitals. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY WORDS: patient-perceived healthcare quality; patient satisfaction INTRODUCTION According to the World Health Organization, the goals for healthcare systems are good health, responsiveness to the expectations of the population and fair financial contribu- tion. As a provider of healthcare, hospitals must ensure qualified, efficient, acceptable and equal service for their consumers. Patients are the most important consumers of hos- pital services. In a competitive environment, patient perception of healthcare service quality is the essential factor when choosing a hospital. Because of increasing living stan- dards and higher expectations, healthcare services must provide continually higher stan- dards of medical care for their consumers. Hospitals want to attract not only local patients but also people from abroad. In this context, Turkey has become a choice destination for *Correspondence to: T. Buyukbese, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Avsar Campus, 46100, Kahramanmaras, Turkey. E-mail: tbuyukbese@yahoo.com Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT Int J Health Plann Mgmt 2014; 29: 292–315. Published online 12 March 2013 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/hpm.2169