Quality Management Practices in Pakistan’s Healthcare System: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Quality management (QM) has become a central strategy for improving performance, patient safety, and service quality in health care worldwide, yet the evidence for Pakistan remains fragmented across individual studies, institutions, and provinces. The present study identifies the set of QM practices associated with successful implementation and quality improvement in Pakistan’s health-care system through a systematic review of the literature. A structured search strategy was applied to peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2025 across five databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE, ProQuest, and ScienceDirect). Following a multi-stage screening process modelled on Talib, Rahman, and Azam (2011), 15 empirical and review studies conducted in Pakistani health-care settings were selected and analysed. Eight recurring QM practices top-management commitment (leadership), infrastructure and resource management, human-resource management and training, patient safety culture, service quality and patient focus, process management and standardization, continuous quality improvement, and health information and documentation systems were identified as the practices most consistently reported, ranked by frequency of occurrence. The article concludes with managerial implications for Pakistani health managers and recommendations for future research