MEDICAL TOURIST SATISFACTION AND DISSATISFACTION WITH DENTAL CARE SERVICES: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

Abstract

Purpose – The first purpose of this study was to identify some key attributes of foreign patients’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction with dental care services provided by selected dental clinic located in Zagreb. The second purpose was to provide dental clinics managers with valuable insights on how to increase the level of their patients’ satisfaction and sales volume. Design – This study was designed as an exploratory case study primarily because dental tourism is, in general, a relatively new phenomenon that needs to be further investigated, from various aspects and in different environments (destinations). Other two reasons were the distinct lack of academic research on dental tourism, and relatively small size of our sample. Methodology – A self-completion questionnaire was completed by 253 foreign patients after they have completed their dental care treatment in the selected dental clinic. An impact-asymmetry analysis and impact-range performance analysis were employed to identify key aspects of dental care service delivery improvement. Approach – The focus of this research was on foreign patients’ expressions regarding their satisfaction and dissatisfaction with various aspects of dental care arrangement provided by the selected dental clinic. Findings – This research has revealed that dental tourists’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction is mostly determined by the quality of product/services and the staff professionalism and competence. In contrast, price of the service, appointment schedule, and information availability are attributes that have relatively weak influence on patient satisfaction with dental care service delivery. Originality of the research – Considering the fact that the overall research on dental tourism is relatively scarce, this research have both, scientific and practical values, especially for dental clinics and tourism destination stakeholders in order to deliver dental care services to the international demand more efficiently