Service quality improvement in hospital physical examination centers based on perceived service quality theory / 中华健康管理学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To obtain an accurate understanding of the true perceptions and potential needs of physical examination population on the services provided by the health management center, so as to improve the quality of the services provided.Methods:All of 250 subjects were randomly selected from those who underwent physical examinations in the health management center of the second affiliated hospital of Dalian medical university. Based on the perceived service quality theory, the Servqual model scale was to evaluate the service quality with five dimensions and 25 items for tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. This measure can be used in service quality evaluation, evaluation of physical examinations to the expectations of service quality, and perceived value in the screening, and computing service quality measurement value (SQ). A two-dimensional quadrant diagram was used to analyze the results of the survey.Results:A total of 234 valid questionnaires were collected with an effective recovery rate of 93.6%. The mean age of the 234 physical examinees was 42.0±7.3 years, including 114 males (48.7%) and 120 females (51.3%). The results of the Servqual scale showed that SQ was -0.44, expectation was 4.45, and perceived value was 4.01. Of the 25 evaluation items, only 1 evaluation item (complete convenience of services of the health management center) SQ was positive, while the other 24 evaluation items were all negative. The average perceived value of service quality of the 25 evaluation items were higher than 3.5. As per the two-dimensional quadrant diagram analysis, 7 items in quadrantⅠwere in the “charm” area, and the expectation of the medical and perceived values were higher than average; 6 items located in quadrant Ⅱ were in the “surprise” area, and the medical expectation and perception values were higher than average and below average; 7 items in quadrant Ⅲ were in the “potential” area, while the expectation of the physical examination and perception values were lower than average; 5 items were in the quadrant Ⅳ “region” area, while physical examination expectations than average perception value is lower than the average.Conclusion:The expectations of physical examinees based on each attribute of the service in the health management center of our hospital is high, and there is a gap between the perceived value and the expected value. Therefore, the service level should be improved according to the four regions in the two-dimensional quadrant diagram to enhance the brand competitiveness of the health management center.