ABSTRACT
Background: Given the competitive environment prevailing in the market, service organizations are looking for loyal customers and hospitals are no exception. In the meantime, attention to relationships' quality and establishment of long term relationships have an important role. The objective of the present study is to examine the effect of relationships' quality on loyalty of patients in selected state hospitals
Methods: The present cross-sectional research was conducted in 2014 in selected state hospitals of Arak and Yazd. The population consisted of 160 patients in the selected hospitals. Simple random sampling was conducted to choose participants. Data were collected through two questionnaires; a part of Hon and Gruning's measurement of relationships questionnaire with four dimensions [satisfaction, trust, commitment, and mutual control] and loyalty questions as a part of the Parasuraman et al.'s behavioral tendencies with one dimension [loyalty dimension]. Data were analyzed with SPSS19 using Spearman correlation coefficient and regression
Results: Results from Spearman correlation indicated a positive and significant relationship between relationships quality and loyalty [r = 0.722, P-value = 0.001]. In addition, results from regression indicated that 60% of the variance of patients' loyalty is explained by satisfaction
Conclusion: Findings revealed that strategies to improve the quality of relationships with patients could lead to loyalty in patients
ABSTRACT
Background: Health care organizations are faced with a new technology called telemedicine which provides a platform for remote cooperation, training, and consulting. Telemedicine is the use of information technology for clinical care of patients. This study aimed to establish the feasibility of telemedicine in two educational hospitals of Yazd
Methods: This cross - sectional study was conducted in 2014. Census and random sampling were applied to recruit 200 out of 722 clinical and administrative staffs of both hospitals. Data were then collected through a standardized three-part questionnaire entitled "telemedicine measurement tools". The first two parts of the instrument were in the form of checklist that evaluated the infrastructure, administrative culture, and education dimensions. Questionnaires were distributed among hospitals' managers and IT staffs. The third part of the questionnaire was in a five-item Likert questionnaire format that evaluated staff preparation and also any obstacles to the deployment of telemedicine from the employees' perspectives. Data were analyzed through SPSS18 software and by using descriptive statistics, frequency, and percentage
Results: Providing raining and providing care were selected as the best applications in telemedicine by respectively 82.4% and 76.2% of respondents. Additionally, lack of technical staff and insufficient bandwidth in telemedicine were reported by respectively 85.4% and 77.8% of participants as the biggest barriers for use of telemedicine. Distance learning and remote monitoring were experienced by 14.5% and 10% of employees, respectively. There was no strategic plan and support for the use of telemedicine in the two hospitals. Employees had the necessary knowledge on the benefits of telemedicine, as well as barriers to its deployment. Technical infrastructure required for the deployment of telemedicine at the two hospitals was not available
Conclusion: For the deployment of telemedicine, the two hospitals should invest in technical infrastructure and administrative culture. Also, the preparation of the two hospitals' staffs is the reliable implementation of this plan