Journal of

Background and Aim: Accountability is a process by which all service organizations including hospitals are required to legitimize their activities. This research aims to study the seven aspects of accountability in Iran's teaching hospitals.

Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional analytic study performed in the second half of 1390 in five major medical-educational hospitals in 5 points of the country. A research-made questionnaire with seven dimensions (ethical, cultural, financial, operational, legal, informational, and structural) was used. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: The total number of subjects was 454, of whom 45.6% were males and the rest were females (n = 247). They were mostly (40.1%) in the age group of 21- to 29-year-olds, and the least figure (6.8%) pertained to those older than 50 years of age. The average mean of structure turned out to be the highest (3.54 ± 0.97) and the informational dimension had the lowest (3.45 ± 0.97). The average accountability score was the highest in Rasht hospital (99.3 ± 0.61) and the lowest in Tehran hospital (3.02 ± 0.67). The correlations between all dimensions were confirmed. Moreover, accountability as evaluated in the studied educational hospitals was above average.

Conclusion: Patients' attitude towards accountability in Iran's teaching hospitals was assessed to be above average. The findings show that an office or a unit for accountability, validation, and continuous audit of its dimensions is essential to advance the high goals of the hospitals.

 Background and Aim: Investigating the effect of intellectual capital on an organization’s ongoing processes is a way of determining its weaknesses as well as appropriate strategies which help managers to make decisions. The main purpose of this study was to confirm intellectual capitals through improving organizational culture among staff managers of IKRF—deputy for support and health.

 Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that was conducted in 1389. The respondents were selected among staff managers of IKRF—deputy for support and health(N=50). Data collection was a questionnaire which consisted of three parts developed by the researcher. Data analysis was performed with SPSS version 16 with the help of descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation test.

 Results: Most of the top and middle managers enjoyed an average organizational culture(top managers=58/3% middle managers=78/3%). The intellectual capital of most managers of this study was below average(mean=2.23). Finally, with respect to the entire managers—both top and middle—, there was a significant relation between organizational culture and intellectual capital( P<0/001).

 Conclusion: Taking into account the significant relation between OC and IC and also the point that organizations try to apply appropriate human resources it becomes further important to improve managing intellectual capitals. In this respect, organizational culture is the most basic substructure.

Background and Aim: The Effectiveness and success of an organization depends on two factors one is the employees’ Performances and the other is the level of understanding between managers and employees in prioritize of different job motivators. The aim of this study was to determine factors that affect staffs’ performances in Qazvin teaching hospitals based on the Herzberg’s theory.

Materials and Methods: This research was a descriptive study. To achieve the main aim of this study, one hundred and ten employees were selected through a multi- stage sampling method .In this study, for data collection a self-report questionnaire was used. The five-point Likert scale was used to determine the degree of importance of any hygiene and multinational's factors affecting the performance of the employees.

Results: Among hygiene factors, the prevailing place was for Job security with an average 4/39 and then followed by a suitable salary with an average 4/38 of 5 scores. Among multinational's factors, job responsibility with an average 4/38 and job interest with an average 4/38 were placed as the most important factors in employees’ performance. %70/8 employees mentioned that two factors of suitable salary and job security are the most important obstacle for improvement of employee’s performance.

Conclusion : The data of this study reveals that, Attention and Planning in providing

 proper salary and job security as hygiene factors and sense of responsibility and success as motivational factors, may play a more effective role in improving employees’ performance than any other factors.

 Background and Aim: Healthcare processes have caused many dangers to patients, and the increase of medical errors is one of the most important consequences of such processes. The present research is conducted to reduce medical errors through presenting a model to control them.

 Materials and Methods: In this mixed (quantitative-qualitative) research, a conceptual model was assembled. Then using the model and an interview, a questionnaire was made. The interview and the researcher-made questionnaire were used to collect data. The statistical population included the related people and the practitioners involved in medical errors in Tehran University of medical Sciences (TUMS) hospitals. The sample consisted of 252 employees who were non-randomly selected from those hospitals. Once the affecting factors were determined, the data were analyzed through factor analysis technique. The gathered data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Finally, the research model was presented.

 Results: The selected individuals pointed out 9 factors controlling the medical errors: culture, factors associated with patients, factors related to providers, factors associated with errors, structural factors, role of disclosure, error registration, individual factors related to reporting, and organizational factors related to reporting. The 9 factors are the subdivisions of three main factors which account for 57/46% of the total variance of data. The most decisive power is related to disclosure 0.737 and the least (0.053) pertains to structure.

 Conclusion: Discloser of medical errors and their registration are factors which are effective and essential in controlling medical errors in TUMS hospitals.

Background and Aim: In health sector, improving quality of treatment services and patient safety are considered as vital. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the quality improvement and patient safety (QPS) and the hospital performance indicators. 
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive analysis research, the statistical population included managers, matrons,  one of the members of the quality improvement committee and one of the clinical governance office members of Shahid Beheshti University of  Medical Science teaching hospitals (N=44). In order to evaluate QPS, data were gathered through questionnaire and the hospital performance indicator data were gathered through interview and observation. Also independent T test was used to determine the relationship between the quality improvement and patient safety and performance indicators.
Results: All five areas of (QPS) including leading and planning, designing clinical and managerial processes, collecting the data, analyzing the data and improvement were significant in QPS score and   according to independent T-test, the relationship between (QPS) and bed occupancy percentage, average length of inpatient stay, bed turnover interval, bed turnover rate and gross death rate was significant (p-value<0/05).
Conclusion: Considering (QPS) standards can improve hospital performance indicators.

Background and Aim: Growing the number of private institutions offering health care and fierce competitive market conditions in the private hospitals industry cause to pressure these hospitals to provide high-quality services. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of service quality on patient satisfaction in private hospitals of the Guilan province. 
Materials and Methods: Based on standard model of Büyüközkan et al (2011) a new dimension professionalism to SERVQUAL model was added that has used six dimensions including tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and professionalism as the dimensions of service quality. The number of samples was 360 patients hospitalized in four private hospitals and a standard questionnaire was used to assess the quality of services. Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Simple and Multiple Linear Regression was used to analyze the data and then by using ANOVA and Duncan’s and by Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process technique, ranking of private hospitals was performed.
Results: Four dimensions: tangibles, responsiveness, empathy and professionalism on patient satisfaction have been found to be effective while Components of trust and assurance in private hospitals of the Guilan province had no significance effect.
Conclusion: Based on the effects of service quality dimensions except trust and assurance recommend that hospitals can increase patient satisfaction if they pay special attention to patient in empathy, updating facilities and technology in tangibles, fast response to patient in responsiveness, employing professional and skilled human resources in professionalism dimensions.