Consumer satisfaction and perceived quality of outpatient health services

The authors examined factors related to consumer satisfaction and willingness to recommend the provider among 1,366 patients receiving examinations at a free-standing medical imaging facility. The nontechnical (nonmedical) characteristics of the service encounter were drawn from three conceptual domains--staff behavior, atmospherics, and information--and two subjective judgments regarding the medical service itself: examination comfort and perceived worth. The authors hypothesized that all of these factors are related to increased consumer satisfaction and willingness to recommend the provider. Data collection was based on a service script, and factor analysis was used to organize elements from each domain into a map of consumer perceptions. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that items from each domain were significantly related to patient satisfaction and willingness to recommend the provider.