What Factors Affect Patient Satisfaction in Public Sector Hospitals: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

Abid Hussain, Muhammad Safdar Sial, Sardar Muhammad Usman, Jinsoo Hwang, Yushi Jiang and Awaisra Shafiq
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Abid Hussain: School of Public Affairs, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Muhammad Safdar Sial: Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Sardar Muhammad Usman: Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Jinsoo Hwang: The College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwanjin-Gu, Seoul 143-747, Korea
Yushi Jiang: School of Economics and Management, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
Awaisra Shafiq: Economics department, Bagdad Campus, The Islamia University, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: Patient satisfaction can identify specific areas of improvement in public sector hospitals. However, the Pakistani healthcare system, and quality of service delivery is rarely assessed through the perspective of patient satisfaction. Our study demonstrated the performance of public healthcare systems in Pakistan by interacting with physical services (tangible and environmental), doctor–patient communication, and pharmacy and laboratory services based on patient satisfaction. Primary data were collected from the patients by using a random sampling method. Patients who participated in the study were visitors of public hospitals’ outpatient departments. A total of 554 questionnaires were circulated, and 445 were received. The confirmatory factor and multiple regression analyses were employed to analyze the collected data. The results revealed that laboratory, as well pharmacy services, had positive significant effects ( p = 0.000) on patient satisfaction, while doctor–patient communication ( p = 0.189) and physical facilities ( p = 0.85) had an insignificant relationship with patient satisfaction. Therefore, it is suggested that a significant communication gap exists in the doctor–patient setting, and that Pakistan’s healthcare system is deprived of physical facilities. Consequently, such services need further improvements.

Keywords: measuring patient satisfaction; pharmacy services; laboratory services; doctor-patient communication; physical facilities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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