醫療市場資訊的初步探討：醫院口碑的可信度分析

Objectives. To examine the determinants of patient satisfaction with and recommendation of a
hospital with a special focus on the interpersonal and technical performance of hospitals.
Design. Survey of patients with 4 specific conditions after their discharge from hospitals.
Setting. Accredited district teaching hospitals nationwide in Taiwan.
Participants. A total of 4,945 patients from 126 hospitals diagnosed with or undergoing
procedures related to stroke, diabetes mellitus, cesarean section or appendectomy were
interviewed by telephone.
Main outcome measures. Overall patient satisfaction and recommendation were measured by
single-item questions. Interpersonal skills were measured by three items– doctors’ explanation,
attitude, and caring. Technical skills were measured by another three items- hospital equipment,
clinical competence, and outcome of treatment.
Results. Patient satisfaction and recommendation did not always agree with each other, 20.8%
of the not-satisfied patients still recommended the hospital. Patient ratings of interpersonal and
technical performances were two major predictors of their satisfaction and recommendation. For all four of the conditions, technical aspect was more important than interpersonal skills in
determining patient recommendation of a hospital according to the standardized regression
coefficients. On the other hand, the magnitudes of effects of the interpersonal and technical
skills on patient satisfaction were not consistent among the four conditions.
Conclusion. The preliminary results imply that a hospital with high percentage of patient
satisfaction does not necessarily receive a high level of recommendation. This finding provides
new insights for researchers and for hospital managers who devote resources exclusively for
achieving highest possible levels of patient satisfaction.