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The agony of choice for medical tourists: a patient satisfaction index model

Jana Rosenbusch (Institute of Human Resource Management and Organizations, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany)
Ida Rosnita Ismail (Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia)
Christian Marc Ringle (Institute of Human Resource Management and Organizations, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany)

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology

ISSN: 1757-9880

Article publication date: 5 July 2018

Issue publication date: 6 December 2018

1533

Abstract

Purpose

Grounded on substantial theories and service concept models, this paper aims at proposing a novel patient satisfaction index (PSI) model. This model allows for identifying the key sources of patient satisfaction and for comparing performance results across hospitals competing on the national and international health-care market. The PSI is also an important benchmark instrument for medical tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

The PSI model was initially tested in hospitals in a developed country (the German hospital market). A total of 1,281 complete patient responses were analyzed by means of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

This model’s sources of competitive advantage – doctors’ and nurses’ interaction quality, environmental quality and outcome quality – mostly explain patient satisfaction, which is the key target construct. The results also reveal that the doctors’ and nurses’ interaction quality is the most salient driver of patient satisfaction.

Practical implications

The proposed PSI model can be generally applied to facilitate the comparison of hospitals on a regional, national and even an international level. In addition, the PSI model helps health-care management facilities prioritize their service components’ improvement (e.g. to attract more medical tourists).

Originality/value

Medical tourists are confronted with a variety of health destinations and may find it difficult to choose an appropriate region and health-care provider. This study contributes to medical tourism research by developing a general patient satisfaction index model for medical tourists.

研究目的

本论文以多种理论和服务概念为理论基础, 建立全新的患者满意度测量(PSI)模型。此模型涵盖了多种患者满意因素, 以及针对国内和国际健康管理市场上的各种医院, 提供性能和质量比较方法。PSI同时也是医疗旅游很重要的衡量标尺。.

研究设计/方法/途径

PSI模型首先在发达国家(德国医疗市场)的多家医院进行测试。1281份可用患者问卷用于分析研究。本论文采用偏最小二乘回归结构方程模型(PLS-SEM)为数据分析方法。.

研究结果

患者满意的影响因素包括:医生和护士与患者的互动质量、环境质量、医疗结果质量等多种竞争优势因素。本论文还发现医生和护士对患者的互动质量是导致患者满意的最显著的因素。.

研究实践意义

PSI模型可以被推广应用在区域、国家、甚至跨国医院的比较上面。此外, PSI模型帮助健康看护管理组织更好地优化服务细节 (比如, 吸引更多医疗旅游的患者)。

研究原创性/价值

医疗旅游的患者面临多种健康目的地的选择, 可能会很难选择合适的地方和健康服务结构。本论文为医疗旅游的患者建立完善的患者满意度衡量模型, 对医疗旅游研究做出贡献。.

纸张类型

研究论文

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Christian Marc Ringle acknowledges a financial interest in SmartPLS (www.smartpls.com).

Citation

Rosenbusch, J., Ismail, I.R. and Ringle, C.M. (2018), "The agony of choice for medical tourists: a patient satisfaction index model", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 267-279. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-10-2017-0107

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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