Service quality of Chinese traditional medicine in Taiwan: a comparative study

A consensus is growing that measuring service quality level based on patients' perceptions is crucial for continuous improvement. This work involved a questionnaire survey to evaluate the gap of perceived service quality level between Chinese traditional medicine and Western medicine in Taiwan. The ten dimensions of service quality proposed by Parasuraman et al. (1985) were adopted as a framework to design an instrument. The results of data analyses indicated that significant differences arise in perceived quality level between the two systems in four dimensions: competency, tangibles, courtesy, and communication. Managerial implications of the results were discussed. We recommend that the two systems learn from each other to enhance patient satisfaction.