A comparison of patients’ satisfaction treated at public and private healthcare institutions under the health scheme using the HEALTHQUAL model

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction and patient outcomes are two elements that influence the quality of healthcare. Based on four dimensions—environment, empathy, efficiency, and effectiveness—the HEALTHQUAL scale is used to measure patient satisfaction with the quality of care. The current study sought to compare patients’ satisfaction with treatment at public and private healthcare institutions under the health scheme using the HEALTHQUAL model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study of 96 study participants was conducted to assess the level of satisfaction perceived by patients admitted to government and private healthcare institutes in the Malda district from August 2022 to September 2022 under the health scheme. Participants were chosen at random from one government and two private hospitals. The hospitals were chosen using a lottery method and a probability proportion to the number of bed sizes. Every single participant was interviewed using a structured questionnaire, and data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 23. RESULT: Overall healthcare service quality practices in public hospitals are low, according to 71% of participants, with a mean of 3.50 and a standard deviation of 0.55. On the other hand, in private hospitals, 60% of participants rated service quality practices as high, with a mean of 4.59) and a standard deviation of 0.34. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that perceived overall patient satisfaction in public hospitals was low. In contrast, perceived overall patient satisfaction was higher in private hospitals. It is recommended that hospital administrators and policymakers must put focus on patients to close service quality gaps, increase service quality, and enhance patient care.