Service quality and satisfaction in healthcare sector of Pakistan— the patients’ expectations

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 489-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saad Ahmed Javed ◽  
Fatima Ilyas
Keyword(s):  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Private Hospitals ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of patients’ expectations from healthcare service quality on their satisfaction with nursing in public and private hospitals of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Data (n=456) were collected from three public sector hospitals and three private sector hospitals of Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s most populous province. Male and female patients who have experience of both sectors were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire developed using the original SERVQUAL approach. Data were analyzed using the statistical techniques and the Laplace criterion. Findings This paper attempts to explain degree of influences of five service quality constructs (empathy, responsiveness, tangibility, reliability and assurance) on Pakistani patients’ expectations from the private and public sector hospitals and thus patient satisfaction. Further, this work can offer several intuitions into the effect of five constructs of service quality on patients’ expectations of healthcare service quality and patient satisfaction with the service providers/nursing. The results reveal that the patient satisfaction is most strongly related to empathy in public sector and to responsiveness in private sector. Research limitations/implications In light of the previous studies and the current research findings, the study anticipates no apparently significant improvement in healthcare sector of Pakistan in near future considering various factors discussed in the study. The study will also help the service providers and the policy makers in understanding the deteriorating situation of the Pakistani healthcare sector and will guide them in identifying the areas by improving which not only the healthcare service quality in the country can be improved but also the image of healthcare sector among the masses and competitiveness of the healthcare sector can be enhanced. Originality/value The value of the study rests in its critical analysis of the current status of the healthcare sector of Pakistan with a view to suggest the areas that need to be worked on by the service providers and policy makers. Also, the study tries to settle a controversy within Pakistani healthcare literature concerning the question that who is producing more satisfied patients: private hospitals or their public counterparts?

Patient Satisfaction with the Healthcare Service Quality: An Empirical Investigation at Malaysian Public Hospitals by Utilizing SERVQUAL-Gap Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 734-740
Author(s):  
Wan Salmuni Wan Mustaffa Et.al
Keyword(s):  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Healthcare Industry

The healthcare industry is among the most rapidly growing service industries in the world economy. In recent years, the government of Malaysia has taken various initiative to increase funding for the healthcare sector to improve the quality of life amongst citizens. However, the continuing complaints regarding patients’ dissatisfaction towards the quality of healthcare services lead to a huge challenge to the service providers. Thus, the main objective of this research is to measure patient satisfaction with healthcare service quality. The selected Malaysian public hospitals were involved in this research. A questionnaire was used as a research instrument distributed to the patient's experienced service delivery at Malaysian public hospitals. The convenience sampling technique was employed to gather the data. Data collected were analyzed using SERVQUAL-gap analysis. The descriptive results revealed that the patients were only moderately satisfied with healthcare service quality rendered byMalaysian public hospitals. Based on the SERVQUAL-gap analysis results, the empathy dimension showed the lowest mean value. This indicates that service quality offered by Malaysian public hospitals still needs improvement in terms of the level of caring and needs as well as individualized attention that the hospital needs to provide to their patients. This research benefits the managerial in the healthcare industry to deliver excellent service experience to the patients by considering the relevant indicators of service evaluation.

Hospital healthcare service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 1195-1214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taqdees Fatima ◽  
Shahab Alam Malik ◽  
Asma Shabbir
Keyword(s):  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Private Healthcare ◽  
Patient Loyalty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain the patients’ views towards private healthcare service providers. The study focussed on hospital service quality and analysed the relative significance of quality measurements in anticipating the patients’ satisfaction and loyalty. The mediating role of patient satisfaction is assessed between quality of hospital healthcare services and patient loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A total 611 patients (both indoor and outdoor) participated in a questionnaire survey from the six private hospitals of capital city, Islamabad, Pakistan. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics, common method variance, reliability, correlation and regression in order to investigate customer perceived service quality and how the quality of services stimulates loyalty intentions towards private service suppliers. Findings Findings depict that private healthcare service providers are attempting to deliver well improved healthcare services to their customers. Results confirmed that better quality of healthcare services inclines to build satisfaction and loyalty among patients. The healthcare service quality aspects (i.e. physical environment, customer-friendly environment, responsiveness, communication, privacy and safety) are positively related with patient loyalty which is mediated through patient satisfaction. Practical implications Findings will help the hospital managers to articulate effective strategies in order to ensure superior quality of healthcare services to patients. The study will induce hospital management to deliver attentions towards the quality of private healthcare service systems and improvements towards the deficient healthcare services. Furthermore, the study will present a clear picture of patient’s behavioural attitudes; satisfaction and loyalty intentions towards the quality of healthcare services. Originality/value The study provides the views and perceptions of patients towards the quality of healthcare services. The healthcare service quality dimensions, i.e., physical environment, customer-friendly environment, responsiveness, communication, and privacy and safety were assessed. Hospital healthcare service quality was examined in order to find out its effect on patient satisfaction and patient loyalty.

Equating the expected and perceived service quality

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1295-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asma Shabbir ◽  
Shahab Alam Malik ◽  
Saquib Yusaf Janjua
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Service Quality ◽  
Private Healthcare

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate patients’ views toward the perceived service quality of public and private healthcare service providers. Determinants of healthcare service quality were compared by carrying out a GAP analysis to equate perceived and expected services and examined differences in the service quality. Design/methodology/approach The study sample comprises 310 inpatients of public and private healthcare service providers. Self-administered questionnaires were used along a five-point Likert scale and analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. GAP analysis was used to observe the difference between expectations and perceived service quality. Findings A cross-sectional study revealed significant quality gaps between the expected and perceived services of public and private healthcare service providers; conversely patients’ expectations are not fully met in both types of hospitals. Private hospitals surpassed in terms of overall perceived service quality from their counterparts. Perceived services were found better in terms of physician medical services in public sector hospitals, while rooms and housekeeping services were found better in terms of private sector hospitals. Practical implications The result can be used by both public and private healthcare service providers to restructure their quality management practices which could only be possible through effective management commitment, regular patients’ feedback and translucent complaint procedures. Originality/value The study conceptualizes the expected and perceived hospital service quality dimensions as an eight-dimensional framework. A comparison between public and private sector hospitals is made to get a better understanding about the differences in the perceived healthcare services among two sectors. Consequences of the study will aid hospital managers and policy makers to get a fuller picture of healthcare services in order to contrive enhancement practices.

Service quality in public health clinics: perceptions of users and health professionals

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 680-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domingos Fernandes Campos ◽  
Rinaldo Bezerra Negromonte Filho ◽  
Felipe Nalon Castro
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Clinics ◽  
Public Health Clinics ◽  
The City

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the expectations and quality gaps in services provided at city public health clinics in the city of Natal, Brazil, from the perspective of patients and healthcare service providers. Design/methodology/approach The research sample consisted of 1,200 patients who used public health services and 265 providers – doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists, psychologists, pharmacists and managers at three health clinics in the city of Natal, Brazil. A scale with 25 health service attributes was used in data collection. Summary statistics and t-test were used to analyze the data. Findings The results show that the providers think that users have lower levels of expectations than those indicated by the users in all attributes. Providers and users have the most approximate insights into what attributes are considered most important: explanations, level of knowledge and attention dispensed by health professionals. Users and providers perceived similar quality gaps for most of the attributes. The gaps were statistically the same, when comparing the mean quality shortcomings by means of a Student’s test, considering a significance level of 5 percent, obtained independently by the manifestation of users and providers. Research limitations/implications The results reveal only a photograph of the moment. The study did not consider the differences that may exist between groups with different income levels, genders or age groups. A qualitative study could improve the understanding of the differences and coincidences of the diverse points of views. A more advanced research could even study possibilities so that health managers could promote changes in the service, some of them low cost, as the health professionals training for contact with patients. Practical implications The evaluation of the service quality complemented by the matrix of opportunities, importance × quality gaps generates information to help make decisions in the rational allocation of available resources and improvement of the quality of the service delivered to patients. Besides, it offers a focus to prioritize specific actions. Originality/value It is important to compare the perceptions of service quality between patients and the healthcare service providers who work in direct contact with them. The managers can smooth out these differences and ensure, over time, customer satisfaction. In this study, providers were asked to express what they think about the expectations of patients and about their own service performance delivered. Thus, not only the traditional gap 5 was measured, but it was also possible to evaluate the distance between what providers think that patients need and their actual needs.

Healthscape role towards customer satisfaction in private healthcare

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 600-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debajani Sahoo ◽  
Tathagata Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Private Healthcare

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the motives that enforce consumers to find out the major determinants that frame healthscape in private healthcare service that leads to their satisfaction in a developing country like India. Design/methodology/approach – The generic motive dimensions are identified using an exploratory factor analysis. Next the reliability and validity of the factors are established followed by regression analysis using SPSS 20.0 s/w. Findings – This paper identifies six healthscape motives in the private healthcare sector named as service personnel conduct and cleanliness, service delivery and facilities, ambience, location and look, appealing decoration, and upgraded safety service, out of which only service delivery, ambience, location, and decorations contribute the most to build customer satisfaction as per their significance value. Research limitations/implications – The various dimensions of healthcare motives should be viewed as the levers of improving hospitals’ service quality in the minds of its present and future customers. This finding can offer valuable insight to the forthcoming as well as existing developer who are planning to have their healthcare service presence in India. Practical implications – This study suggests some important strategic guidelines for service positioning and market segmentation of healthcare services as per customer requirements. In the recent past, availing services from hospitals were purely utilitarian in nature. Customers were more inclined to get proper and timely services and cared more about the service quality of the healthcare service provider. Originality/value – This paper is among the few works done on understanding private healthcare service delivery process in India and customer satisfaction level from those Hospitals. This study addresses the gap by identifying a set of dimensions that are relevant to customers for a unique healthcare experience.

Impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in private and public sector banks

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 606-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Paul ◽  
Arun Mittal ◽  
Garima Srivastav
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negatively Associated ◽  
Public Sector Banks ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – In today’s world, with increased competition, service quality has become one of the most popular areas of academic investigation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of various service quality variables on the overall satisfaction of customers and compare the private and public sector banks using a sample from India. Design/methodology/approach – With the help of forward stepwise regression, the authors explain how a variety of variables are both negatively and positively influencing customer satisfaction. The authors collected data from 500 respondents in India; 250 of which were customers of private sector banks, and 250 of which were customers of public sector banks. The authors had a response rate of 65 percent. Findings – In the case of private sector banks, knowledge of products, response to need, solving questions, fast service, quick connection to the right person, and efforts to reduce queuing time were found to be the factors that are positively associated with overall satisfaction. Assistance to the customer, appearance, and follow up are negatively associated with customer satisfaction. On the other hand, in the case of public sector banks, knowledge of the product and fast service are the factors which are associated positively and appearance is the only factor that is negatively associated. Originality/value – The components of service quality that are positively associated are not the same in public sector banks as they are in private sector banks.

Impact of hospital atmosphere on perceived health care outcome

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ritu Narang ◽  
Pia Polsa ◽  
Alabi Soneye ◽  
Wei Fuxiang
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Clinical Effectiveness ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The People ◽  
Developed Nations

Purpose – Healthcare service quality studies primarily examine the relationships between patients ' perceived quality and satisfaction with healthcare services, clinical effectiveness, service use, recommendations and value for money. These studies suggest that patient-independent quality dimensions (structure, process and outcome) are antecedents to quality. The purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative by looking at the relationship between hospital atmosphere and healthcare quality with perceived outcome. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from Finland, India, Nigeria and the People ' s Republic of China. Regression analysis used perceived outcome as the dependent variable and atmosphere and healthcare service quality as independent variables. Findings – Results showed that atmosphere and healthcare service quality have a statistically significant relationship with patient perceived outcomes. Research limitations/implications – The sample size was small and the sampling units were selected on convenience; thus, caution must be exercised in generalizing the findings. Practical implications – The study determined that service quality and atmosphere are considered significant for developing and developed nations. This result could have significant implications for policy makers and service providers developing healthcare quality and hospital atmosphere. Originality/value – Studies concentrate on healthcare outcome primarily regarding population health status, mortality, morbidity, customer satisfaction, loyalty, quality of life, customer behavior and consumption. However, the study exposes how patients perceive their health after treatment. Furthermore, the authors develop the healthcare service literature by considering atmosphere and perceived outcome.

Evaluating health service quality: using importance performance analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 656-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azar Izadi ◽  
Younes Jahani ◽  
Sima Rafiei ◽  
Ali Masoud ◽  
Leila Vali
Keyword(s):  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Performance Analysis ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Medical Inpatients ◽  
Health Service Quality ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Improve Service Quality

Purpose Measuring healthcare service quality provides an objective guide for managers and policy makers to improve their services and patient satisfaction. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to measure service quality provided to surgical and medical inpatients at Kerman Medical Sciences University (KUMS) in 2015. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive-analytic study, using a cross-sectional method in the KUMS training hospitals, was implemented between October 2 and March 15, 2015. Using stratified random sampling, 268 patients were selected. Data were collected using an importance-performance analysis (IPA) questionnaire, which measures current performance and determines each item’s importance from the patients’ perspectives. These data indicate overall satisfaction and appropriate practical strategies for managers to plan accordingly. Findings Findings revealed a significant gap between service importance and performance. From the patients’ viewpoint, tangibility was the highest priority (mean=3.54), while reliability was given the highest performance (mean=3.02). The least important and lowest performance level was social accountability (mean=1.91 and 1.98, respectively). Practical implications Healthcare managers should focus on patient viewpoints and apply patient comments to solve problems, improve service quality and patient satisfaction. Originality/value The authors applied an IPA questionnaire to measure service quality provided to surgical and medical ward patients. This method identifies and corrects service quality shortcomings and improving service recipient perceptions.

An assessment of national healthcare service delivery: a Ghanaian illustration

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 649-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwabena G. Boakye ◽  
Charles Blankson ◽  
Victor R. Prybutok ◽  
Hong Qin
Keyword(s):  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Behavioral Intention ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a healthcare framework of service quality, perceived value, and satisfaction in Ghana. More specifically, this study investigates the role and effect of service quality on patient satisfaction and perceived value in Ghana’s healthcare delivery. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered through surveys administered to 113 healthcare patients in Ghana. partial least square-structural equation modeling analysis was used to empirically test the research model. Findings Results show healthcare quality significantly influences satisfaction and perceived value of healthcare delivery. Additionally, perceived value’s impact on satisfaction and behavioral intention shows that increasing perceived benefits while reducing perceived costs leads to repeat behavior and paves the way for retention strategy for healthcare management. Research limitations/implications This study yields a series of limitations in its results and conclusions. These limitations and future research are discussed in Section 7 of the study. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by examining the effects of healthcare service quality on patient satisfaction and perceived value, determining the effect of healthcare service quality on patients’ behavioral intention, and testing the proposed framework in Ghana, a fast growing and economically liberalized emerging country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in the Bangladesh healthcare sector

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 477-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selim Ahmed ◽  
Kazi Md. Tarique ◽  
Ishtiaque Arif
Keyword(s):  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hospital Patients ◽  
Response Rate Data

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in Bangladesh’s healthcare sector. It identifies healthcare quality conformance, patient satisfaction and loyalty based on demographics such as gender, age and marital status. It examines the differences between public and private healthcare sectors regarding service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The authors distributed 450 self-administered questionnaires to hospital patients resulting in 204 useful responses (45.3 per cent response rate). Data were analysed based on reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA and discriminant analysis using SPSS version 23. Findings Findings indicate that single patients perceive tangibles, reliability, empathy and loyalty higher compared to married patients. Young patients (⩽20 years) have a higher tangibles, empathy and loyalty scores compared to other age groups. The authors observed that private hospital patients perceive healthcare service quality performance higher compared to patients in public hospitals. Research limitations/implications The authors focussed solely on the Bangladesh health sector, so the results might not be applicable to other countries. Originality/value The findings provide guidelines for enhancing service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in the Bangladesh healthcare sector and other countries.

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