IMPACT OF SERVICE QUALITY DIMENSIONS ON PATIENT SATISFACTION AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS: A STUDY OF INDIAN PUBLIC HOSPITALS

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between perceived service quality (PSQ) dimensions, patient satisfaction (PS), and behavioral intention (BI) of patients admitted in Indian government hospitals. Design/methodology/approach - Data from 480 respondents was collected via structured questionnaires on a 5-point scale from six government hospitals. Convenience sampling method was used in the study. The patient responses were analyzed through reliability, correlation, and regression analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings - Infrastructure, process of clinical care, trustworthiness, and social responsibility dimensions of PSQ significantly influenced patient satisfaction. Behavioral intention dimension was significantly impacted by infrastructure, personnel quality and social responsibility dimensions. A direct and positive relationship was found between satisfaction and behavioral intention of patients. Overall patients reported low satisfaction levels in government hospitals, with administrative procedures dimension reporting the poorest performance due to the high waiting time in various service procedures. Originality/value - There is a dearth of research that evaluates SERVPERF in multi-specialty government hospitals. This empirical study attempts to evaluate the effect of infrastructure, personnel quality, process of clinical care, administrative procedures, safety procedures, hospital image, social responsibility and trustworthiness dimensions on satisfaction and behavioral intentions of patients.