Bridging the gap between healthcare providers and patient expectations.

Are We Missing the Mark? Bridging the Gap Between Healthcare Providers and Patient Expectations

Lena Kashyap in Health & Wellness November 2025 • 4 min read.

"Uncover hidden gaps in public health clinics and what they mean for quality care. A must-read for healthcare professionals and patients alike."

In developing countries, the efficient delivery of public healthcare services faces constant challenges due to increasing demands and limited resources. Evaluating these services is crucial for ensuring quality and optimizing available resources. A key aspect of this evaluation involves understanding the perceptions of both users (patients) and providers (healthcare professionals) regarding service quality.

Service quality, from a patient's perspective, is closely linked to how promptly their needs are addressed and whether the benefits of receiving care outweigh any potential risks. Factors like infrastructure and the quality of health professionals play vital roles in shaping these perceptions.

Despite ongoing efforts to improve public healthcare in Brazil, quality remains a persistent concern. The Unified Public Health System (SUS), established in 1988, aims to provide universal access to healthcare. However, effectively planning, prioritizing, and allocating resources within primary healthcare centers requires a deep understanding of both provider expertise and patient perceptions of service quality. This article explores these perceptions, aiming to identify gaps and inform strategies for enhancing healthcare delivery.

The Perception Problem: Are Providers Aware of Patient Needs?

Bridging the gap between healthcare providers and patient expectations.

A study was conducted across three public health centers in Natal, Brazil, involving 1,200 patients and 265 healthcare providers (doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, pharmacists, and managers). The research aimed to pinpoint the service attributes patients consider most important and compare these with providers' perceptions.

The findings revealed a significant disconnect. While patients highly valued attributes such as safety, comfort, and easily accessible information, providers often underestimated their importance. This suggests that healthcare professionals may not always be fully aware of patients' actual needs and priorities.

Safety and Comfort: Patients ranked these attributes as high priorities, while providers placed them lower, indicating a potential blind spot.
Clear Communication: Knowledge, attention, and clear explanations from healthcare professionals were valued by both groups, highlighting the importance of the doctor-patient relationship.

These discrepancies highlight the need for healthcare providers to actively seek and understand patient perspectives to deliver truly patient-centered care. When comparing the overall responses, the Spearman test indicated a low match between the priorities of patients and providers' perception of their priorities.

Closing the Gap: A Path to Improved Healthcare

The study's findings underscore the importance of aligning healthcare delivery with patient expectations. By understanding what patients truly value, healthcare providers and managers can make informed decisions about resource allocation and service improvement.

One of the key takeaways from the study is that the patients perceived the public clinics to have negative quality. In all attributes, the degree of expectation was higher than the performance of the services offered. To bridge the gaps, the authors recommend the following:

Prioritize the attributes of security and comfort in order to meet the patients needs. Focus on improvments for safety and comfort at the health clinics. The gaps in the quality of 'availability of a sector of complaints or suggestions', should be addressed with a demand for an ombudsman who can attend to patients' complaints.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1108/ijhcqa-09-2016-0140, Alternate LINK

Title: Service Quality In Public Health Clinics: Perceptions Of Users And Health Professionals

Subject: Health Policy

Journal: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance

Publisher: Emerald

Authors: Domingos Fernandes Campos, Rinaldo Bezerra Negromonte Filho, Felipe Nalon Castro

Published: 2017-10-09

Everything You Need To Know

How is 'service quality' defined from a patient's point of view, and what are its key components?

Service quality, from a patient's perspective, is closely tied to how quickly their needs are met and whether the advantages of receiving care outweigh any possible risks. Factors such as infrastructure and the quality of health professionals are vital in shaping these perceptions. A key aspect of this evaluation involves understanding the perceptions of both users (patients) and providers (healthcare professionals) regarding service quality. This involves aspects such as the timeliness of care, the expertise and communication skills of healthcare professionals, and the overall environment of the healthcare setting.

What was the methodology used in the study conducted in Natal, Brazil, and what were the key findings regarding patient and provider perceptions?

The study conducted across three public health centers in Natal, Brazil, involved 1,200 patients and 265 healthcare providers (doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, pharmacists, and managers). The research aimed to pinpoint the service attributes patients consider most important and compare these with providers' perceptions. The study revealed a significant disconnect between what patients prioritize and what healthcare providers believe patients value, particularly in areas like safety, comfort, and easily accessible information. This discrepancy highlights the need for healthcare providers to actively seek and understand patient perspectives.

Why is bridging the gap between healthcare providers and patient expectations so important in the context of healthcare?

In the context of healthcare, bridging the gap between healthcare providers and patient expectations is important because it directly impacts patient satisfaction, healthcare outcomes, and the effective use of resources. When providers are unaware of patient needs, they may allocate resources inefficiently or offer services that do not meet patients' priorities. This can lead to dissatisfaction, reduced adherence to treatment plans, and ultimately, poorer health outcomes. Improving this alignment helps to ensure that care is patient-centered, improving both patient and provider experience.

What are some of the specific examples of discrepancies between patient and provider perceptions found in the study, and what are the implications?

The findings reveal that healthcare professionals may not always be fully aware of patients' actual needs and priorities, leading to a mismatch in service delivery. For instance, patients in the study highly valued safety, comfort, and accessible information, while providers often underestimated their importance. This disconnect can lead to patient dissatisfaction, decreased trust in the healthcare system, and potentially, poorer health outcomes.

What is the significance of the Unified Public Health System (SUS) in the context of this discussion?

The Unified Public Health System (SUS), established in 1988, aims to provide universal access to healthcare in Brazil. Effectively planning, prioritizing, and allocating resources within primary healthcare centers requires a deep understanding of both provider expertise and patient perceptions of service quality. The SUS faces the challenge of efficiently delivering public healthcare services due to increasing demands and limited resources. Understanding patient perceptions helps in improving the quality of services and optimizing the allocation of these resources.