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

What is it about?

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.

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