CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN HOSPITALS

Abstract

Health care delivery has become one of the fundamental issues being given attention by governments of most developing countries. The Objective of this study therefore is to examine how Customer Relationship Management can be employed to bring about improve health service quality in Nigeria. The data for the study was collected through questionnaire instrument administered to 200 health workers at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Ilorin, Nigeria. Thus the study adopted a case study approach method. Exploratory test was conducted to determine the mean age of the Sample distribution, while Chi-square, Kolmogorov Smirnov test and Factor Analysis were Statistical techniques employed to further perform data analysis on the study. Findings reveal that the mean age was not significantly different from the hypothesized value, Customer Relationship Management (C.R.M.) has significant effects on the quality of Hospital Services in Nigeria (χ 2 =0.000, d.f=2 and P ≤ 0.05) and three factors namely: Interactive Management, Personalisation, and Relations with Patients are relevant factors in the implementation of Customer Relationship Management in Nigerian Hospitals. The study recommends pre-planning and understanding expectation of Stakeholders for CRM successful implementation. Introduction The provision of health care services in Nigeria is a concurrent responsibility of the government. This involves the three tiers of government: the Federal, State and the Local governments. The Federal government coordinates the affairs of the University Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centers while the State Governments take control of the General Hospitals and Specialist Hospitals; and Local Governments are in charge of controlling Dispensaries and Cottage Hospitals. There has been spatial inequality in terms of health care availability and quality in Nigeria due to the level of government involvements in heath care programs and provision of facilities to the people (Akhtar, 1991).