Dimensions of patient loyalty and switching intention: Relational outcomes for benchmarking approach

Abstract

Patient loyalty is gaining attention increasingly among healthcare service providers in an intense competition. The ex-post facto correlational study conducted in National Capital Region, India in four multi-specialty hospitals with 500 beds are administered by four different establishments – trust run, charity based, corporate managed, and government hospitals. About 400 of patients were randomly selected from the said selected hospitals. The study found patients' patronize required personalized approaches (reliable and tangible) and organizational strategies (functional) which in turn affect the likelihood of switching service providers. The study also measured the patients' loyalty and their intention to switch to other service provider exemplified that potential antecedents and consequences of service quality in terms of reliable, functional aspects and tangible factors required vigor, dedication, and absorption. The differential attitude of patients demonstrated that strength and weakness of the hospital, which seems to differ from public sector hospital, to trust run, charity and private hospitals. Analyses describes that patients who have switching experiences still tend to consider more thoroughly all aspects of services; the relationship between the variables were stronger even badly experienced patients in trust run and public sector hospitals.