Comparing public and private hospital care service quality

The study applies the principles behind the SERVQUAL model and uses Donabedian's framework to compare and contrast Malta's public and private hospital care service quality and showed that private hospitals are expected to offer a higher quality service, but it was the public sector that was exceeding its patients' expectations by the wider margin.

Abstract

The study applies the principles behind the SERVQUAL model and uses Donabedian's framework to compare and contrast Malta's public and private hospital care service quality. Through the identification of 16 service quality indicators and the use of a Likert-type scale, two questionnaires were developed. The first questionnaire measured patient pre-admission expectations for public and private hospital service quality (in respect of one another). It also determined the weighted importance given to the different service quality indicators. The second questionnaire measured patient perceptions of provided service quality. Results showed that private hospitals are expected to offer a higher quality service, particularly in the "hotel services", but it was the public sector that was exceeding its patients' expectations by the wider margin. A number of implications for public and private hospital management and policy makers were identified.