Relationship of service quality and hospital accreditation on patient's satisfaction and loyalty

Abstract

Patient loyalty and its attributes are significant concerns for healthcare industries. A lot research has been done on this issue in numerous contexts but such research in the Malaysian healthcare industry is still scarce. This study investigated the relationship between service quality, hospital accreditation on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the Malaysian healthcare industry. The research examined five factors of service quality: responsiveness, assurance, tangibility, empathy, reliability. This study utilized nonprobability convenient sampling to gather the data from 20 private hospitals that promote medical tourism in Klang Valley, Malaysia. A total of 378 medical tourists participated in the survey. Statistical tests carried out include descriptive statistics, internal consistency, reliability and validity. Correlation analysis was also conducted to determine the relationships of the variables. In addition, the analysis also included the PLS Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The main finding shows that service quality and customer satisfaction have a direct effect on customer loyalty. Also, the findings show there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction, service quality and customer loyalty, hospital accreditation on customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction on customer loyalty. However, hospital accreditation has no positive effect on patient loyalty. The findings of this study are useful to managers, board of directors and stakeholders of private hospitals to understand influential factors on patients' satisfaction and loyalty.