Establishing Patient Loyalty by Investigating Its Relationship with Relationship Quality, Alternative Attractiveness, and Patient Gratitude in Hospitals

Abstract

Abstract:Recently hospitals are facing several challenges in a competitive medical market, how to enhance physician-patient relationship becomes an important concern for hospitals to better improve medical quality and patient loyalty. However, the enhancement of patient loyalty through a better physician-patient relationship is still ambiguous in healthcare field. The purpose of this study aims to examine the physician-patient interaction, and to further investigate the relationships among relationship quality, patient gratitude, alternative attractiveness, and patient loyalty. The findings revealed that both satisfaction and commitment had positive effects on patient loyalty whereas trust had no significant impact on patient loyalty. Additionally, gratitude demonstrated a significant effect on patient loyalty. In addition, patient loyalty was found to have no significant impact on patient loyalty. Healthcare management should pay more attention to relationship-oriented elements (such as relationship quality and gratitude) in order to provide a better physician-patient relationship in medical service industries.

Satisfaction or gratitude? Exploring the disparate effects of physicians' knowledge sharing on patients' service evaluation in online medical consultations

“…First, it is among the first studies to focus on patient gratitude and differentiate it from patient satisfaction in the context of online healthcare. While patient gratitude towards medical professionals is widely studied in offline healthcare, it has received limited attention in the online healthcare context (Hsieh et al, 2018; Huang et al, 2019). Prior studies have mainly treated patient gratitude as an indicator of patient satisfaction, failing to recognise the difference between satisfaction and gratitude (Yang et al, 2019; Zhang, Wu, et al, 2019).…”

“…Second, another important outcome of patient evaluation in online healthcare, namely gratitude, has been largely overlooked in the existing literature. In offline physician–patient interactions, patients often express gratitude towards medical staff for their efforts in preserving their health and well‐being, and such expressions of gratitude are known to contribute to establishing patient loyalty and long‐term physician–patient relationships (Hsieh et al, 2018; Huang et al, 2019). However, previous studies have mainly considered patient gratitude in the context of online healthcare as an indicator of patient satisfaction, while neglecting its distinctive role.…”

Faktor-Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Loyalitas Konsumen di Siloam Hospitals Kebon Jeruk dan Lippo Village

“…9,15 Namun pada hasil penelitian lainnya ditemukan juga bahwa loyalitas konsumen tidak dipengaruhi oleh nilai konsumen, 16,17 ataupun kepercayaan konsumen. 9,18 Oleh karena belum ditemukan konsensus mengenai hasil penelitian diatas maka penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menginvestigasi pengaruh nilai dan kepercayaan konsumen terhadap loyalitas konsumen, kepercayaan konsumen terhadap nilai konsumen, serta tiga dimensi kualitas pelayanan terhadap kepercayaan konsumen.…”

What Role Does Patient Gratitude Play in the Relationship Between Relationship Quality and Patient Loyalty?

“…Physicians who communicate friendly with their patients present fewer disputes and thus suffer less disruption in the process of medical treatment. 33 Likewise, further studies may consider level of patient gratitude to identify the impact of moderation effect on the physician-patient relationship.…”

“…Few studies have clearly identified the connection between patient gratitude and physician-patient relationship, particularly the effect of patient gratitude on patient loyalty. 32,33 As health care organizations seek to create a long-term relationship with the patient, understanding how patient gratitude impacts physician-patient relationship is essential. It is therefore important to recognize the role of the patient’s gratitude on a long-term physician-patient relationship.…”