Service quality in the health care industry: how are hospitals evaluated by the general public?

This paper investigates the "expectations" aspect of service quality in the health care industry. Specifically, an examination is made of the importance of various hospital characteristics to consumers, the dimensionality of service quality, and the relative importance of these dimensions across demographic groups. The results suggest that the competency and the behavior of physicians are the most important characteristics in the minds of consumers. Moreover, it was found that hospitals are evaluated along: (1) interpersonal, (2) amenities, (3) capabilities, and (4) accessibility dimensions. These findings are consistent with previous research in this regard. Additionally, significant differences in the importance of these factors were found across respondent gender, age, income, and education.