Service Quality in Healthcare

Sector
Service Quality
Service qualityis a comparison of expectations with
performance. A business with highservice qualitywill meet
customer needs whilst remaining economically competitive.
Improvedservice qualitymay increase economic
competitiveness.
Gaps in service quality
Gap 1: The difference between actual customer expectations and
managements idea or perception of customer expectations.
Gap 2: Mismatch between managers expectations of service
quality and service quality specifications.

 Gap 3: Poor delivery of service quality i.e. difference

between service delivery and service quality
specifications.
Gap 4: Differences between service delivery and
external communication with customer.
Gap 5: The difference between what customers expect
of a service and what they actually receive.

 Classical marketing was based on the concept of supply.

With the ever-increasing competition on the supply side
consequent to implementation of new economic policy in
respect of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization
(LPG), the situation on the demand side has been
changing rapidly.
Implementation of service quality measures improves
operational efficiency in the healthcare sector, resulting in
optimum resource allocation, minimum wastage of
available resource and significant improvement in the
quality
Huge investments have been made by the central and
state governments, and private organizations on
infrastructure, drugs, creating awareness about health
and diseases, and manpower with an objective to provide

Dimensions
Reliability: Ability to provide services accurately and
dependably.
Responsiveness: Readiness or quickness in
responding to customers needs.
Assurance: Courtesy and knowledge of the employees
and their ability to conveytrust and confidence.
Empathy: Caring and individualized attention provided
to customers.
Tangibles: Physical evidence in a service facility (e.g.
personnel, equipment, etc).

Factors Influencing Service Quality

in Health Care
Socio-demographic factors influence the interaction
between a provider and the patient and consequently
the quality of services.
Some patients ask their doctors to prescribe medicines.
They believe that they will not be healed unless they
take medicines. Patient persistence to get a specific
medicine influences physicians to do so to satisfy the
patient
Lack of a robust referral system and a low medical tariff
are the main reasons for a doctors tendency to meet
patient (irrational) requests.
Patients financial status may affect the quality of

 Quality of patient care depends directly on the quality of

patient education and responsibility. Patients knowledge
of their rights influences their expectations of quality
services
The patients attitude and behaviour also affects the
attitudes of care-givers. If a patient behaves himself or
herself, care-givers unintentionally provide better
services