PERCEPTION OF PATIENTS REGARDING QUALITY OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES AT PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TERTIARY CARE HOSPITALS
Objectives: Patient satisfaction is a significant marker for estimating the quality of medical services being provided at a clinical facility. It also influences the opportune, proficient, and patient-focused provision of quality medical services. 
Methods: Data from 768 outdoor patients were collected from four tertiary care hospitals in Islamabad, Pakistan. Half of the patients were from public sector hospitals, while others were from private hospitals. A self-administered questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha=0.896) was structured for data collection. Using SPSS, descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and Chi-square test were used to analyze data. 
Results: Overall, 51.4% of patients were satisfied with the services provided to them at hospital Outpatient department. Patients who experienced private sector hospitals (74%) were significantly more satisfied than those who visited the public sector hospitals (29%) (p<0.001). Gender-wise, female patients were more satisfied (58%) than male patients (47%). Insufficient attention of the doctor, the behavior of the supporting staff and inadequate management of disease record were the red flags highlighted by the patients. 
Conclusion: The current investigation has shown that quality healthcare is significantly associated with economic conditions; patients’ perspective have expressed that the private sector provides satisfactory medical services at a high expense, whereas the public sector is a less expensive alternative but it lags in the provision of high-quality services and patient satisfaction.