Outpatient department service quality: An empirical investigation in the hospitals of Delhi-NCR during pandemic

Abstract

Purpose – The present study aims at explaining the patients’ opinion towards the Outpatient Department (OPD) facility of tertiary care hospitals in Delhi-NCR region during Covid pandemic. The research focuses on the quality of healthcare services provided by the OPD and examines the comparative importance of quality measurements in finding out the patients’ satisfaction. Design – A total 408 respondents took part in a questionnaire survey from the Delhi- NCR region who has visited OPD facilities of either private or Government hospital on one pretext or other. Data was analyzed through descriptive statistics, reliability study, correlation and multivariate regression on SPSS to examine customer perceptions of service quality and how the quality of services stimulates an overall satisfaction index towards OPD facilities in healthcare sectors. Findings – As per the findings of this paper, the maximum number of respondents had a good overall experience in the outpatient departments of the tertiary hospitals and therefore assessed the services on a positive scale. Doctors’ knowledge and communication, waiting time, and online consultation in the era of pandemic emerged as the most vital factors of outpatient satisfaction. Originality – The service quality factors in healthcare, i.e., physical facilities, responsiveness, and communication were assessed and new dimension of service quality, online consultation, was added, which is believed to be an important parameter for measuring patients’ satisfaction in the current situation, where physical communications have been limited to emergencies only. Practical Implications – The outcomes will enable hospital managers to formulate effective strategies to enhance service quality of healthcare, especially in OPD, which is the most frequented area of healthcare service systems.