Abstract:
Internationally, governments have recognised the constraints facing their
citizens with regards to access to affordable, quality healthcare services. This
development is evident in South Africa where the majority of the population
have limited access to affordable, quality healthcare due to the healthcare
inequality between the insured and uninsured. To address this lack of access to
quality healthcare, medical experts recommend a focus on patient-centred
primary healthcare as opposed to the current system of provider-centred
healthcare. This research aims, through the development of a patient-centred
framework, to assist in advising healthcare systems for the delivery for patientcentred
primary healthcare.
In order to develop a holistic view, all stakeholders involved in the delivery of
healthcare were considered in answering the main research question. The
study comprised of 43 interviews in total, of which 28 interviews were with
uninsured patients who use healthcare facilities in South Africa and 15 medical
expert interviews. This information was then consolidated into a framework, and
further refined through the literature collected, to form a holistic service quality
framework that allows for the delivery of patient-centred primary healthcare.
The holistic service quality framework acts as a mechanism to ensure that the
delivery of patient-centred primary healthcare has a positive impact on patient
satisfaction. Patient satisfaction can be improved or increased through the
levers, available to the providers, identified in the framework. This allows
healthcare systems to improve the service quality of the healthcare delivered
