EXQ: measurement of healthcare experience quality in Malaysian settings

Unveiling the Negative Customer Experience in Diagnostic Centers: A Data Mining Approach

Introduction

This study aims to identify the negative customer experiences reflected in complaints against diagnostic centers using data mining tools.

Methods

Analyzing customer complaints from a consumer complaints website, the Apriori algorithm was employed to uncover frequent patterns and identify key areas of concern. The frequency and distribution of terms used in complaints were also analyzed, and word clouds were generated to visualize the findings.

Results

The study revealed that major areas of unfavorable customer experience included delayed test reports, erroneous test results, difficulties scheduling appointments, staff incivility, subpar service, and medical negligence.

Discussion

These findings and the proposed model can guide diagnostic centers in incorporating data mining tools for customer experience analysis, enabling managers to proactively address issues and view complaints as opportunities for service improvement rather than legal liabilities.

Understanding and Acceptance of Smart City Policies: Practitioners’ Perspectives on the Malaysian Smart City Framework

Whilst a plethora of research exists on the smart cities and project performance evaluations, only few studies have focused on the smart city policy evaluation from the perspective of its acceptance by practitioners. This paper aims to generate insights by evaluating the smart city policy through a developing country case study—i.e., Malaysia. This study employed a questionnaire survey method for data collection and analyzed the data by using Fuzzy Delphi analysis. A group of 40 practitioners was gathered in a focus group discussion through purposive sampling. The main objectives of this survey were to identify the understanding and acceptance levels of the seven smart city domains and respective strategies that are outlined in the Malaysian Smart City Framework. The results disclosed that the practitioners possessed divergent levels of understanding and acceptance in terms of smart city domains. The study participant practitioners accepted all understanding and acceptance objectives of smart economy, living, people, and governance domains (expert agreement 75–92% and threshold d value 0.123–0.188), but rejected all objectives for both smart environment and digital infrastructure domains (expert agreement 55–74% and threshold d value 0.150–0.212). Along with this, acceptance of smart mobility was also rejected (expert agreement 56% and threshold d value 0.245). The findings reveal that considering all opinions expressing dissensus is essential when building more inclusive smart city strategies. This study contributes to the smart city discourse as being one of the first in capturing professional practitioners’ understanding and acceptance on a national level smart city policy by applying the Delphi method in the smart city context. Most importantly, the study informs urban policymakers on how to capture the voices and perspectives of the general public on national and local smart city strategy and initiatives.

Dynamics of e‐Governance in post COVID era: India

India as a country, has made numerous efforts related to launch and adoption of e‐Governance initiatives, which has been introduced in various fields. However, except a few, most of such initiatives have not been able to deliver the desired results over the longer course of time, resulting in underutilization of public funds. Moreover, time and again it has been noted that e‐Governance initiatives adoption and success varies across geography, mainly on account of prevalence of diversity in India. Furthermore, post COVID, the importance of e‐Governance initiatives in the lives of citizens at large, has witnessed a paradigm shift both in applicability as well as acceptance. The enforcement of social distancing by Central as well as Local governments in the past few months has led to enhanced role of e‐Governance initiatives in delivering critical to common services/facilities to the citizens at large. As a result, this study has been conducted with an aim to identify the factors responsible for higher adoption of the e‐Governance services in India. The study also aims to analyze the impact of ongoing pandemic on the adoption of e‐Governance by including a separate construct related to health.

Exploring factors that influence positive WOM in the health insurance industry

Health insurance companies have an interest in understanding what factors may lead to positive word-of-mouth (WOM) from consumers. This research identifies factors that influence positive WOM about health insurance firms. Using data collected from 425 insurance policy holders, we find influential factors vary depending on the purchase source. Significant factors identified in the study that influence positive word-of-mouth include service quality, plan satisfaction, and plan type (individual vs. family). Further, claim count, preferred information source, and deductible levels also affect the spread of positive WOM differently among purchase sources. The study concludes with a discussion of implications and future research.

Role of internal service quality in enhancing patient centricity and internal customer satisfaction

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the antecedents and outcomes of internal service quality (ISQ) in a health-care environment. The relationships among the heterogeneous health-care environment, coordinated care, perceived organisational support (POS), ISQ, internal customer satisfaction and patient-centred care were explored.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a review of the literature, a structural model was developed. A 37-item questionnaire was circulated among service providers in the health-care system, including doctors, nurses and system staff, all over India. The random sampling method was adopted to collect data. A total of 238 valid responses were received. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Findings

The results show that the heterogeneous environment, coordinated care and POS act as antecedents of ISQ, which drives internal customer satisfaction and patient centricity in health care.

Research limitations/implications

The paper contributes to the health-care literature by identifying the antecedents and consequences of ISQ and developing a structural relationship among ISQ, the heterogeneous health-care environment, coordinated care, POS, internal customer satisfaction and patient-centred care.

Practical implications

Hospital administrators may use various constructs of POS, ISQ and coordinated care to measure process and employee performance, which may aid the design of appropriate processes and improve employee selection. The constructs of patient centricity and internal customer satisfaction may be used as benchmarking tools to facilitate the formulation of immediate corrective actions and policies for future courses of action.

Social implications

This paper highlights how patient centricity may be achieved by focussing on ISQ, coordinated care processes and a facilitative internal environment. This understanding may aid the design of processes that in turn deliver health as a social good in an effective manner.

Originality/value

This paper extends past research on ISQ by showing that ISQ affects internal customer satisfaction and, in turn, the quality of service delivery in the system. In the health-care context, heterogeneity in patient needs, coordinated care and organisational support play crucial roles in determining ISQ, which in turn influences the level of patient-centred care.

Relationships between supply performance of pharmacies in Chile and their quality of customer service

Purpose

This paper aims to describe relationships between constructs adapted to the pharmaceutical field with respect to the measurement of the supply chains strategic and operational performance in private pharmacies, relating it to the quality of service perceived by users.

Design/methodology/approach

Relationships among the indicated constructs were validated through the use of structural equation models. This study includes the use of questionnaires adapted and applied to suppliers (pharmaceutical chemists and supply staff), operational managers (pharmacy assistants) and users (patients and clients) who visit different segments of pharmacies, such as chain businesses and independents located in the region of Valparaíso, Chile. The sample collected information from 128 establishments and 601 people, through which different relationships between segments were compared.

Findings

A structural model was validated on the basis of statistical principles. Furthermore, positive relationships were observed in the constructs studied where pharmacy chains had a statistical significance of less than 5 per cent between the responsibility of the supply process and the experience of the users, whereas independent pharmacies had a very significant causal relationship between operational managers and users.

Practical implications

The proposal can help predict the quality of service perceived by the user based on the behavior of sales and supply staff, which may be similar in other markets with similar characteristics.

Originality/value

The structural model proposed is original and adapts measurement scales validated from previous studies to be able to apply them in the pharmaceutical retail market.

Assessing service quality and customer behavioral responses in hospital outpatient services

Purpose

In contrast to the reflective approach of service quality measurement, this paper aims to propose and validate a parsimonious multidimensional second-order formatively measured model of service quality for primary health-care services provided by hospital outpatient departments. The index’s empirical validity is examined by investigating the strength of its relationship with certain behavioral responses such as patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through a stratified random sampling from eight hospital outpatient departments in Greece. Covariance-based structural equation modeling techniques were used to validate the proposed service quality index and further investigate its effect on patient satisfaction and behavioral intention.

Findings

The data analysis indicated that the proposed formative index is fully functional with medical care being the factor and mostly contributes to service quality perception, followed by administrative service and staff performance, and facilities condition and nursing care. It, further, confirmed the partial mediating role of satisfaction, as it enhances the high impact of service quality on behavioral intentions.

Research limitations/implications

The relationships among hospital outpatient departments service quality, patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions were validated with data from one country and a health-care system which is state driven and funded.

Practical implications

An understanding of hospital primary health-care service quality formation is important to health-care decision makers because it offers them the opportunity to consider patients’ needs and wants, and takes the appropriate actions for improving the relevant underling procedures in a more efficient manner to achieve favorable behavioral responses.

Originality/value

The paper manages to propose and empirically evaluate a formatively measured approach of service quality and investigate the effects of the proposed index on patient satisfaction and behavioral intention, especially in the hospital outpatient services context in Greece.