의료서비스 품질 평가가 고객 충성도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구: 환자의 의료서비스 품질인증제 인지를 중심으로

As the healthcare industry has become increasingly more competitive in recent years, many healthcare service providers have made an effort to acquire service quality certifications. However, very few studies empirically analyze their effect. This study examines the impact on quality assessment, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty when healthcare service providers become certified and patients become aware of it. We began with the hypothesis that quality assessment has an impact on customer satisfaction, and has a positive impact on the patient's intention to re-visit as well as positive word-of-mouth. The hypothesis was tested using the Structural Equation Model (SEM). In addition, a latent mean analysis was used to determine whether any difference exists between the group of patients who were aware of their healthcare provider's certification and another group who were unaware. Analysis results showed that the relationship between healthcare quality assessment and customer loyalty was significant. Additionally, patients with awareness of the provider's certification status gave significantly higher scores for tangibles, reliability, and assurance on the service quality of the provider in their quality assessments, satisfaction level, and intention to revisit compared to the patients without the awareness. Study results suggest that when healthcare providers become certified for service quality and encourage their patients to become aware of the certification, then quality assessment, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty can improve.