1.1 INTRODUCTION: Healthcare is one of the fastest growing industries. It provides goods and services that help treat patients with curative, rehabilitative, preventive and palliative care. The Equentis report states that the healthcare sector is growing at a CAGR of 15% and increased to $78.6 billion in 2012 and expects to further increase to $158.2 billion by 2017. Factors behind the growth are the increase in income level, easy access to high quality healthcare facilities and attention to personal health and hygiene. Even though there is growth in the healthcare sector, there are some factors that are used to measure the quality of service in the healthcare sector, especially hospitals. India's liberalization and globalization policies have led to a significant change in the healthcare scenario. Due to growing awareness, patients as consumers expect high quality of healthcare services. Quality is considered an important factor when customers choose hospitals (Schuler and Lynch, 1990). Service quality can be divided into two components, namely technical quality and functional quality (Gronroos, 1984: Parasuraman et al., 1985: Lewis and Mitchel, 1990). Technical quality is defined on the basis of procedures and technical accuracy. Functional quality is defined as the way in which customer service is delivered. In healthcare industries, patients generally consider functional aspects such as facilities, cleanliness, attitude of hospital staff, etc., rather than technical aspects (Babakus and Boller, 1991). The research presents findings of the gap that exists between patient perception of service quality and management expectations on quality...... middle of paper...... and it is expected that health insurance will reach $160 billion by 2017, according to Frost & Sullivan reports. India has seen tremendous growth in the healthcare sector with its expansion into both the private and public sectors. According to a report by Grant Thornton India, the Indian medical devices and equipment market is expected to grow by around $7.8 billion by 2016. According to recent studies, patients' aspirations are changing. Customers are becoming aware of their healthcare needs, demanding less waiting time for service, quick response, better quality of service and availability of healthcare units nearby. These factors translate into immense opportunities for healthcare industries to make their footprint in India. Reports from Mckinsy and IDFC say that India's healthcare industry will be worth around $125 billion 2019.