EVALUATION OF PATIENTS’ SATISFACTION USING THE SERVQUAL QUESTIONNAIRE MODEL

Background: Radiology services are vital part of health care service and as a service provider one needs to understand the quality of service being delivered, from the patients’ perspective. This study objectively evaluates the expectation and perception of patients towards the quality of service offered by the department using SERVQUAL questionnaire. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study from September to November, 2018 with 219 patients subjected to different services of the department and participated in the self-administered SERVQUAL questionnaire survey in terms of the dimensions of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy.  The mean gap score between perception and expectation for each of the dimension were determined, and the obtained overall scores were compared. Data MP Version 14 software was used for data processing and analysis. Results: The overall average score was negative (-0.03). Particularly, the modern look of equipment, the displayed information at the department (tangibles) and promptness of the services provided were perceived to be less than expected (score -0.33). With regard to reliability (+0.27), responsiveness (-0.0004), assurance (+0.19) and empathy (-0.30), the positive behavior of the staff instilled confidence in the patients in undergoing the procedures and they kept the patients’ best interest in mind during the services provided. Conclusions: There exists a service quality gap in the patients’ expectations and the actual perception of services in the department.  The institute is now better able to recognize the gap, and hence can design and implement strategies that can improve the quality of services for increasing the patients’ satisfaction and propensity.