Attributes of patient satisfaction in hospitals : a case study at Ain Wazein Medical Village

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of patient satisfaction in the healthcare sector, the links between its factors, and the impact of each factor on the overall satisfaction for its positive feedback on the workflow and progress of hospitals, despite the fact of the rising cost of health care and the high rates of out-of-pocket expenditure in Lebanon. Methodology – A post-positivist philosophical position and a deductive reasoning approach were adopted through this research. This study deals with a case study of the attributes of patient satisfaction of AWMV population. This study is based on secondary data on surveys already found at AWMV system gathered quarterly. A mixed-method was implemented including a documentation analysis using the complaints filed at the hospital from the year 2007 till 2017, and a quantitative analysis using SPSS software for the patient satisfaction surveys fulfilled from year 2007 until the end of year 2017 comparing this data, witnessing the changes, linking between its factors and coming out with results and recommendations. Findings–Due to the analysis conducted on the patient satisfaction survey fulfilled on the targeted sample in this paper, the impacts of the performance level of different departments appear clearly on the overall satisfaction level. However, each department contributes in a different percentage to the overall satisfaction. As well, when studying the claims presented, the results show that the nursing administration registered the highest percentage of complaints, followed by the services administration and the medical administration consequently. While comparing the documentation analysis results with these of the quantitative analysis, there appears a positive relation between both claims and surveys. Research limitations/implications – There are several limitations to this study. The recent change of the questionnaire at AWMV is the main limitation. As well, the data was aggregated quarterly; which leads to some missing and accurate data to be followed and analysis through the study. Moreover, due to the insufficient data fulfilled with patients regarding which medical department they were admitted to, this study does serve as a recommendation for the whole hospital and not looking in-depth in the departments having the highest claims or negative response from patients. However, the implication was in the importance of the assessment done on the old survey in an attempt to look at the new modified survey, being implemented in the hospital, if it is good or whether in need of more changes to be done further. As for theoretical implication, this study is the first being conducted in Lebanon regarding the contributors to patient satisfaction. As managerial wise, the implication refers to the importance of studying the factors affecting patient satisfaction for corrective actions to be done on the new survey, if needed, as well as to know where the efforts should be allocated for better service and higher patient satisfaction level. Originality/value– Due to the evidence that higher levels of patient satisfaction leads to higher loyalty level as well as better service quality, patient satisfaction is serving recently as a key factor in judging the hospital’s performance. Thus, patient satisfaction became a core subject to be researched in the healthcare sector in addition to its importance for both governmental and ISO accreditations. A limited number of studies have evaluated the impact of the attributes of patient satisfaction on the overall satisfaction in the Lebanese healthcare sector.