PATIENT'S PERCEPTION OF SERVICE QUALITY IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS OF GURGAON

Abstract

Purpose – Service quality refers to the methodology of obtaining a difference between expected service and a perceived service of any service offering. In today’s globalized and connected world, services have started dominating over products in almost all fields. Providing service quality, is therefore given for any service industry. Healthcare industry offers large amount of services, many of which are of critical nature and require expertise of service provider. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the gap between expected services and perceived services of 11 private hospitals across Gurugram, Haryana region is explored. The report first reviews and discusses various research initiatives being undertaken in the field of service quality of hospitals in India and abroad. Then a modified scale is prepared keeping Parsuraman’s SERVQUAL scale as reference. This modified scale includes economic aspects of affordability into the original SERVQUAL scale considering the fact that most of the population in Gurugram is migrant population who are living here primarily due to profession. The scale’s structural validity is tested conducting a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and reliability is established. Further, the developed questionnaire is administered to patients who are 18 years old and above who have stayed in hospital for at least 2 days and are having capacity on independent judgment. Comparison between expectations and perceptions of private hospitals will be made using mean values using SPSS software and validated using Pair Sample t-tests. Findings – The Millennium city of Gurgaon, considered home to large number of reputed private hospitals fell short of meeting the customer’s satisfaction in terms of their service quality. While perceived service quality was less than expected service quality for all dimensions of MODIFIED SERVQUAL Scale, affordability and empathy dimensions were the two where maximum difference lied. With patients being unsatisfied regarding the expenses incurred during their treatment as well as lack of vi empathy observed in medical staff led to serious dissatisfaction that requires a review from both private hospitals as well as government. While dissatisfaction in service quality affects the trust of patients in hospitals and their brand, it compels government to churn out regulations to control quality of healthcare. Limitations/Implications – This research is conducted in a limited geographic area of Gurugram, Haryana, i.e. it is a cross-sectional study whereas for sake of completeness a longitudinal study must be conducted. For our convenience, the questionnaire included questions of both expectation and perception. In future, the expectation and perception sections should be separated, although this may create difficulties contacting respondents just before their treatment and just before they are discharged from hospital.