“CONSUMER PERCEPTION ON SERVICE QUALITY IN HEALTH

CARE SECTOR”
KRISHNA SURARCHITH NAVULUR

Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Ishik University, Erbil, Iraq - Kurdistan

Abstract- In today’s highly competitive healthcare environment, hospitals increasingly realize the need to focus on service
quality as a means to improve their competitive position. Customers’ expectations and perceptions of health care service
quality therefore play an important role when choosing a hospital.One of the primary concerns in Indian health care sector
centered on the issues of patient / customer satisfaction. This paper attempts to conduct the gap analysis among patients’
expectations and perceptions of health care service quality by using a generic, internationally applied market research
technique called SERVQUAL. Research limitations/implications – The integration of customer (patient) -related Service
quality success factors as well as the suggested gap measurement approach gives different research opportunities in both
methodological and conceptual issues to assess consumer perception on Service quality. Practical implications – In the
process of designing, implementing and evaluating Service quality in health care sector, hospitals should integrate
customers’ expectations and reactions to strategies those will be implemented to satisfy patients. The managerial
implications may be important for healthcare service providers to contribute better services to patients in an effective way as
patients are already disturbed and frightened with their diseases.

Key words- Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Health Care Sector

I. INTRODUCTION increasing rate and is becoming intensely competitive

(Chen, et.al., 1994; Johnson, et.al., 1988). As such,
Good health is the basic need of any individual, and it service quality has become a very important issue in
is said prevention is better than cure. Most of us marketing and has received much attention due to
rarely like to go to hospital but the era has come being deregulated and thus has increased the
where we are needed to visit the hospital at least to competition among service providers (e.g.: health
get the assurance about the health condition to have care, banking and telecommunications in the 1980’s
some diagnosis. Services are deeds, processes and and utilities in the 1990’s). Service quality has
performances (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003). Broadly, become so important that some businesses, not only
services include all economic activities whose output need high levels of service quality for success, but in
is not a physical product or construction is generally some cases, need it for survival (Buzzel and Gale,
consumed at the time it is produced and provides 1987; Chen et. al., 1994; Ford Motor Company,
added value in forms (convenience, amusement, 1990; Germano, 1992; Hauser and Clausing, 1988;
timeliness, comfort or health) that are essentially Howcroft, 1993; Kearns and Nadler, 1992; Kettinger
intangible concerns of its first purchaser (Quinn, and Lee, 1995; Koska, 1990).
Baruch and Paquette, 1987). The Service sector
consists of different dimensions and among them we Increasing competition in this sector has led the
have picked ‘health care’ which deals with different hospitals to realizing the need to focus on increase the
services such as, hospital services, diagnosis services, service quality to maintain competitive position.
physicians’ consultancies and some other emerging Consumers are the determinants of service quality
fields. The paper aims to tackle the issue of service and perception carried by them plays an important
provided by hospitals, access to expectations and role in choosing a hospital. This paper presents
satisfaction held by patients, to identify the relevant service quality analysis of consumers (patients)
service quality dimensions used by patients to studiedin Bhubaneswar city of India. The measuring
evaluate service quality and to determine the instrument used in this study is SERVQUAL. The
existence of significant difference in service quality analysis covers a sample of 450 patients that reveals
expectation and satisfaction of patients. It has the overall gap between patient’s expectations and
measured the gap of expectation and satisfaction of their perception about the health care service.
consumers who are none other than patients and
attendants. II. BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Service quality has become an important research Patient satisfaction is getting the highest priority for
topic in view of its significant relationship to cost, health services. The patient satisfaction survey is
profitability, customer satisfaction, customer becoming the primary tool of assessing this aspect of
retention, service guarantees and financial health care. This survey provides a ‘snapshots of
performance. The service sector is expanding at an patients’ opinions of medical/ health care practice. A

Proceedings of 4th IRF International Conference, 06th April-2014, Hyderabad, India, ISBN: 978-93-84209-00-1
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 “Consumer Perception on Service Quality in Health Care Sector”

health care organization purpose is to measure, more, expresses overall satisfaction with their care,
analyze, and to report the degree to which they are with few respondents responding negatively to any
meeting this goal within their organization. One of given item. Satisfaction is, however, a relative
the primary concerns in Indian health care sector is measure which research literature shows, may be
the centralisation of issues of patient/consumer influenced by many factors that should be considered.
satisfaction. Today individuals are having different Reflecting the prior discussions and necessities, the
options when deciding on a specific health care key research questions addressed in this study are:
provider due to increasing number of service
providers and varying options of quality of services How the major dimensions of service quality analysis
provided by them. Two specific and essential work in Indian health care sector?
elements that influence the selection process for a Is there any major significant gaps observed between
healthcare service provider are the health care patients’ perception and expectation related to service
organisation reputation for its commitment to quality quality of health care industry?
and the patient centred customer service. The world is In this context, the broad purpose of this research
passing through a phase of rapid transition from study is to investigate the perception of service
fragmented market system to a global one. During quality in Indian health care sector in the mindset of
business in such an environment calls for a high patients.
degree of perfection which enables the enterprises to
successfully cope up with challenges. Services are More specifically the research aims to:
being highly competitive and the health care industry A. Assess the current expectations and perceptions
in India is moving very rapidly to face this held by patients with respect to health care services
situation.Quality assurance has become the major provided by Indian hospitals
concern in the delivery of medical care. Quality of the B. Evaluate the major service quality dimensions
product or service is an important parameter of a used by patients in consuming health care services
service organization to evaluate its performance and C. Determine the gaps between patients’
is equally done for the hospitals which are perceptions about the service performance and their
accountable to country as well as to the provider of expectations with respect to hospital service quality
the resources. parameters.

The concept of health restoration, rehabilitation, and III. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

belief of pain, prevention of disease or death is not
tangible or qualify able in numerical or financial From various studies, SERVQUAL appears to be a
terms. Hence in the hospital resources provided in the consistentand reliable scale to measure heath care
form of facilities and standard practices forms service quality. In principle, together with
important indices for measuring the quality of theinformation relative significance of service quality
services rendered.The meeting of patient/client dimensions, it helps health careorganization to
expectations are assumed to play a role in the process identify where, and to some extent how, to improve
by which an outcome can be said to be satisfactory or the service theyoffered to patients. Given the
unsatisfactory. Expectations are an important importance of functional aspects of care, the
influence on the patient/client’s overall measurement SERVQUALinstrument has a useful diagnostic role
of satisfaction with a health care experience. to play in assessing and monitoring servicequality in
Patient/client satisfaction is influenced by the degree health care, enabling the organization to identify
to which care fulfils expectation (Mahon, 1996). where improvements areneeded from the patient’s
Some literature however suggests that a link between viewpoint.The findings of research provide valuable
satisfaction and fulfilment of patient/client insights to relation of customer’s health and service
expectations is not necessarily the case, since it is quality perceptions that can be used in quality
possible that the patient/client’s evaluation of a improvement efforts(Dagger and Sweeney, 2007).
service may be largely independent of actual care The research framework has been proposed to
received (Williams, 1994).Important factors measure service quality from the perspectives of
influencing patients/clients satisfaction include patients as well as attendants(Padma, Rajendran and
literacy levels, intellectual and physical/sensory Sai, 2009). Importance of service delivery has been
disability levels and difficulties with language talked and said that factors of service quality
proficiency or ethnic and cultural diversity. Social influence customers overall sense of satisfaction with
elements within our society must be considered as the services offered by the public and private sector
they can very often dictate whether the consumer will hospitals(Kaul, Gupta and Jauhari, 2008). The
provide feedback and express their satisfaction or research conducted by Reynoso and Moores, 1995
otherwise, e.g., financial status, educational status, has contributed the different dimensions with its
demographics (urban/rural), technology. Previous validity which is needed to assess the internal service
measurements of patient satisfaction overwhelmingly quality of any organization. The study did by Choi. K
show that the majority of consumer usually 80% or et al., 2005with themotivation to extend the test of

Proceedings of 4th IRF International Conference, 06th April-2014, Hyderabad, India, ISBN: 978-93-84209-00-1
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 “Consumer Perception on Service Quality in Health Care Sector”

functional relationship between health care service Managerial Application”,Journal of Marketing Theory and
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