Kotsaythoune Phimmasone creator Paul, Himangshu Chairperson Broustai, Joel Francois Examination Committee Swierczek, F.W. Examination Committee Government of France Scholarship donor text series technical report th Bangkok Asian Institute of Technology 1999 continuing eng 90, [17] leaves This study evaluates the service quality of five major hospitals in Lao People Democratic Republic. The objective of the study is to assess and evaluate the service quality provided by those hospitals and provide recommendations to improve it. Three questionnaires were prepared after some modifications based on SERVQUAL model. Respondents were managers, contact-employees and patients/customers. The SERVQUAL scale was developed based on a marketing perspective. Its purpose was to provide an instrument for measuring service quality that would apply across a broad range of services with minor modifications in the scale. There are five dimensions of service quality that are applicable to service-providing organizations in general. These dimensions are: (1) tangibles-physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel; (2) reliability-ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately; (3) responsiveness-willingness to help customers and provide prompt service; ( 4) assurance-knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence; and (5) empathy-caring, the individualized attention the firm provides its customers. Taking customers' expectation as a benchmark, the importance of each item in the SERVQUAL model is weighed. It was found that all five gaps are present to varying degrees in the Lao health care services. It is important for service organization to know how well they are serving customer so that they can improve and maintain the quality of their services. Measurement of service quality ultimately provides a sense of where the organization is and where it is going in terms of market share. The public health in Lao needs to take care of quality in service within its own organisational framework. This seems to be crucial and essential for it competitiveness and for better service to it people. One of the service quality main approaches is focused on satisfying customers' expectation. It is the primary step toward the quality concept. That is why, hospitals in Laos, even being they are totally owned by government as main share holder, must know its customers' perception and expectation in terms of service quality. A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration, School of Management Research studies project report (M.B.A) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1999 Hospitals Quality control Laos Asian Institute of Technology. http://203.159.5.9/ait-thesis/detail.php?q=B12015 http://203.159.5.9/ait-thesis/detail.php?q=B12015 141299 20260817163410.0