"EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTHCARE SERVICE QUALITY AND PATIENT SATISFACTION: FINDINGS FROM PRIVATE HOSPITALS IN KARACHI

Abstract

Purpose The purpose ofthis study is to empirically assess the relationship between healthcare service quality dimensions like physical environment, customer friendly environment, communication, privacy and safety, responsiveness, reliability and patient satisfaction within the context of private hospitals in Karachi. Methodology & Design This research is quantitative in nature and involved primary data that was collected by means of a self-administered cross- sectional survey. Final sample size of 384 which consisted of respondents having experience of private hospitals situated in Karachi was used for data analysis. SPSS 22 was used to run Cronbach’s Alpha reliability, Pearson’s Co-relation and Multiple Linear Regression tests in order to assess the internal consistency ofscale, relationship amongst variables and the impact ofindividual independent variables on the dependent variable respectively. Findings Findings indicate that the proposed model is significant in explaining the impact ofhealthcare service quality dimensions on patient satisfaction. Moreover, communication and customer friendly environment depicting interpersonal quality, emerged as the two strongest predictors of patient satisfaction, indicating that patients of private hospitals in Karachi have higher psychological needs. Reliability and physical environment were the other quality dimensions found to have a significant impact on patient satisfaction, whereas responsiveness and privacy and safety were found to be insignificant. Practical implications Findings from this study will help managers ofKarachi’s private hospitals to formulate effective strategies targeting key areas offocus in order to satisfy patients and inculcate further improvements to ensure superior quality ofservices that will ultimately enable them to competitive and profitable.Recommendations Based on the findings, managers of private hospitals in Karachi are recommended to employ a Total Quality Management approach incorporating preferences and feedback of both patients and employees. They should focus on enhancing soft skills of all personnel, improve communication, maintain and update facilities, upgrade skills and improve processes to elevate technical caliber and ensure error free services to patients respectively. Limitations This research is purely quantitative in nature and might not have captured patient’s complex set of beliefs and accurately evaluate patient satisfaction which is very subjective in nature.