A STRUCTURAL MODEL TO MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS OF HOSPITAL SERVICES Background: One of the main determinants of quality in the public health care services is the perceived user satisfaction. Aim: To analyze the relationship between supply (User Orientation of Management) (UO), demand (User Satisfaction with service components) (US) and subjective indicators of effectiveness, such as Perceived Global Quality (PGQ) and Global Satisfaction (GS) among hospital service users. Material and methods: A survey was applied to users of hospital services, asking about management and quality of hospital services and satisfaction with the service provided. Data was analyzed with exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses.  Structural Equation Models were used to test the hypotheses implied in the theoretical model of effectiveness. Results: The cause-effect relationship between UO and US was confirmed. There was also a direct relationship between PGQ and GS. Conclusions: Efficient nursing and administrative personnel are of highest importance to improve user satisfaction. The hospital management must pay extreme attention to this kind of staff in order to be effective from the point of view of their patients.