An Empirical Study on Patient Delight and the Impact of Human and Non-Human Factors of Service Quality on Patient Satisfaction in Private Hospitals

Abstract

Health, one of the Fundamental Human Rights has been accepted in the Indian Constitution. Today the healthcare industry has emerged as one of the most challenging sectors as well as one of the largest service sector industries in India. Patient perceived service quality become the prominent aspect to choose between hospitals. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate patient perceived service quality in Indian hospitals. Further the impact of the dimensions on patient satisfaction and patient delight is examined. A questionnaire was administered to the in-patients and multiple regression analysis has been used to examine the impact of the dimensions on patient satisfaction and patient delight. Findings emphasize eight distinct dimensions of patient perceived service quality and the impact on patient satisfaction and patient delight. A positive and significant relationship with patient satisfaction and patient delight has been found, except two dimensions. The results of this study are limited, as they are based on Indian hospitals. The contribution of this research paper, incorporate patient delight in health care sector. In addition, this paper highlights the importance of emotional attachment for patient satisfaction and patient delight in health care.