SERVICE QUALITY AND PATIENT SATISFACTION IN PUBLIC HEALTHCARE: A SERVPERF ANALYSIS OF OUTPATIENT SERVICES

Kerala is a top-ranking state in India in terms of overall health performance and outcomes.It has a well-established public healthcare system compared to other states, and its focus on the quality of healthcare services is commendable.However, the health landscape of Kerala remains challenging as the health requirements of the people of Kerala are multifaceted. In this contect, the patient satisfaction assumes great significance. Measuring patient satisfaction helps assess patients perceptions of healthcare services.Moreover, it can serve as the parameter of policy efficacy in the regard. The present paper discusses service quality and patient satisfaction in public health care with an emphasis on outpatient services in a prominent government hospital in Kerala. The SERVPERF (Performance-only) framework is used here for the analysis. The five dimensions of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy (RATER dimensions) under the model is employed. The assessment of level of service quality and the level of patient satisfaction on outpatient services in the general hospital, the impact of service quality dimensions on patient satisfaction and a discussion on the problems of the patients in the department in the light of patient satisfaction analysis. The results of the study indicates that the patients perceive the service quality as moderate even after the adoption of various patient friendly transformation measures in the hospitals. Stronger and strategic policy measures are required in the case of all the RATER dimensions to improve the overall patient satisfaction.