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I think that my part in the proceedings to‐night is certainly the easier part and I think that it is perhaps right that it should be the briefer part. I have to set, as your Chairman has said, a course which Mr. Mallaber has to follow, and I may, in setting the course, lead him into some rather murky and rough waters. We should therefore give him plenty of time to steer on an even keel through them.

A glance at the Aslib Calendar printed in the monthly bulletin, Aslib Information, will show that there has been great activity in the months since the Aslib Annual Conference in September, 1953. Indeed, the Branches and the London Headquarters together have organized so many meetings that only a proportion of the papers given thereat can be included in Aslib Proceedings. In order to preserve a record of activities, however, as far as possible the names of speakers and the titles of their papers will be mentioned in these introductory pages, a note being added when the paper is printed in the issue concerned.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a modified service quality (SERVQUAL) model scale for measuring healthcare service quality in Kosovo.

An initial dimensions area methodology in construct development, followed by combined exploratory-analytical deductive research with the goal to test theory concepts and validate the measurement tool known from the theory of service quality using new empirical data in a specific context. A cross-sectional survey on a sample of 200 post-encountered patients and using structural equation modelling (SEM) and SEM path analysis to determine satisfaction.

The findings confirmed that a six-dimensional scale of SERVQUAL is not appropriate for the Kosovo health-care context. The scale development analysis with a new reduced four-dimensional model can be used to measure health service quality in the Kosovan context.

The initial study concept was not piloted. It was developed by the researcher based on secondary data. Systematic random sampling was used, which may have resulted in conclusions that are not applicable to the general population. Finally, this study is applicable to the Kosovo context and cannot be generalized nor represent all patients treated in Kosovo hospitals and clinics. However, the above limitations are less significant compared to the importance of carrying out this type of study for the first time in Kosovo.

This study can help Kosovo health authorities to guide health system-wide improvements and health-care providers to remove quality shortfalls based on a culturally sensitive and validated multiple-item scale for the quality of their service.

This is the first research conducted to identify which of the service quality dimensions require attention by the health-care service providers in Kosovo and develop a validated tool for patient satisfaction measurement that can be used for commercial application.