의료서비스 품질 평가가 고객 충성도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

A Study of the Effect that Healthcare Service Quality Assessments Have on Customer Loyalty: With a Focus on Patient Awareness of Quality Certifications

최근 들어 의료산업 내 경쟁이 치열해지면서 많은 의료기관들이 의료서비스 품질인증제를 획득하고자 노력하지만, 그 효과를 실증적으로 분석한 연구는 거의 없었다. 이에 본 연구에서는 의료기관이 품질 인증을 받은 후, 환자가 이러한 의료 서비스 품질인증제 획득을 인지하는 것이 품질 평가, 고객 만족, 고객 충성도에 미치는 영향을 살펴보았다. 먼저, 의료서비스 품질 평가가 고객 만족에 영향을 미치고, 고객 만족은 재방문 의도와 긍정적 구전에 영향을 미친다는 가정을 구조방정식모형을 통해 검증하였다. 또한 잠재평균분석을 통해서 의료서비스 품질인증제를 인지하는 환자 집단과 인지하지 못하는 환자 집단 간에 각 요인별 차이가 존재하는지를 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 의료서비스 품질 평가가 고객 충성도와 유의한 관계가 있음을 확인할 수 있었고, 의료서비스 품질인증제를 인지하는 집단이 인지하지 못하는 집단에 비해 유형성, 신뢰성, 확신성에 관한 의료서비스 품질 평가, 고객 만족, 재방문 의도가 유의하게 높은 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 연구 결과는 의료기관이 품질 인증제를 획득하고 이를 환자에게 인지시킴으로써, 품질 평가, 고객 만족, 고객 충성도를 향상시킬수 있음을 보여준다.

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.