Perceived service quality and medical outcome: An interdisciplinary review and suggestions for future research

An interdisciplinary perspective of the constructs patient satisfaction, service quality and medical outcome is offered and a link is made incorporating the three research traditions into a service quality model for general practice.

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to offer an interdisciplinary perspective of the constructs patient satisfaction, service quality and medical outcome. The method employed initially focuses on the roots of satisfaction research in consumer behaviour, its applications in business and medicine and the potential shortcomings of satisfaction measures. A review of the literature on outcome measures emphasizes the problems that may arise in the general practice setting. A more broadly‐based service quality perspective is also discussed. As a result of the review, a link is made incorporating the three research traditions (satisfaction focus, outcome focus and quality focus) into a service quality model for general practice. The theoretical constructs of the model are then related to specific variables. The implications of the proposed model for general practice management are discussed and suggestions are made for testing the model in the general practice setting.