Evaluating health care quality: the moderating role of outcomes

An integrative model of health care quality is presented. "Health care quality" is defined as provider conformance to patient requirements at three benefit levels: core, intangible, and tangible. The model is operationalized and tested in a clinical setting, a large center for fertility studies with more than 5000 patients. Health care "process variables" such as physician and patient interactions were not as important in patients' evaluations of health care quality when successful outcomes occurred (pregnancy). However, when patients experienced unsuccessful outcomes (no pregnancy), health care "process variables" were important and had a significant influence on patient perceptions of health care quality. Hence, service outcomes can significantly affect the measurement and interpretation of health care quality. Implications for health care management and research are discussed.