Medical travellers’ awareness of service quality is increasing, so hospitals and health centres should put a high priority on understanding the concerns, perceptions and even the emotions of their targeted patients, particularly post-pandemic, argues Mahshid Moeini Naeini, Temos representative in Iran.
More than ever, businesses worldwide are being tested on their quality of service. Companies in which quality was already fragile and inefficient have seen their processes go from lacking to completely broken during the COVID-19 crisis. This has been particularly true for companies in medical and related industries which have been directly involved in responding to the pandemic. Some key lessons have been learned in the quality world from this experience.
There is a general awareness regarding the importance of quality in all sectors of the economy. Quality affects the process, management and logistics aspects of an organisation and potentially imposes an unpredicted cost to the system. Poor quality creates dissatisfied customers and eventually leads to a loss of business in competitive markets.
The cost of quality for an organisation can be categorised into two different types: quality control costs (the necessary costs for achieving high quality) and quality failure costs (the imposed cost due to poor quality).
The best tactic for competitive advantage is to improve quality through establishing accreditation standards in the organisation. Simultaneously, you can prevent the costs incurred as a result of the low quality of services and the dissatisfaction of customers, by implementing recognised standards and processes so paving the way for improvements, especially controlling the service quality and safety for patients.
Another way to create a competitive advantage through quality management is to identify and meet the expectations of customers. Poor quality can add 15%-25% to the total costs of a hospital or medical centre, possibly more.
Service quality and satisfaction in medical tourism
Patient satisfaction is crucial in medical tourism. In this sector, hospital management must use data to define the best possible quality strategy to survive.
Patient satisfaction is based on personal cognitive experience and the output is an emotional reaction in response to receiving services according to his or her expectations. A satisfied medical tourist is more likely to return or refer friends to the hospital. In addition, these patients are less resistant to paying hospital costs.
Studies in medical tourism identify several factors involved in satisfaction levels, including accommodation, advanced equipment, skilled hospital staff, reliable and professional doctors, quality of the services, patient demand perception, confidentiality of medical records, the medical information provided by travel agencies, standard service processes by hospitals, easy entry into the destination country, security, communication, and appropriate infrastructure.
Motivations of medical tourists
Motivations in medical tourism can be defined as a collection of patients’ internal needs which prompt them to use the healthcare services in a destination country. By exploring and recognising motivations, policymakers can forecast the final decision of medical tourists when they select their destination.
Motivations for patients may differ from one to another. American patients seek lower-cost medical services in comparison to their homeland. Some Canadian and British patients travel due to long waiting lists for healthcare services. Some patients have no access to necessary services domestically. Some of them, mainly cosmetic surgery travellers, may be eager to combine leisure time and a holiday with their treatment.
Studies explore different motivations, such as travel agencies advertisements, friend recommendation, low quality of medical services in homeland country, the language of the destination country, facilitating government regulation, proximity to the destination country, low cost of healthcare services, skilled doctors, advanced technology, comprehensive health services, good reputation, observed hospital standards, high level of trust, tourism aspects of the destination country, easy communication with doctors, easy travel to the destination country, cultural commonalities, facilities and the equipment at the international standards.
Medical tourists’ expectations
Service quality is a judgment between “expectation” and “perception” of a patient from the provided services.
Expectation is the patients’ demands from service providers. A service that is lower than the level of expectation always leads to dissatisfied patients.
Expectations may include: high-quality services, good hospitality, highly skilled medical care, low-cost care, international accreditation for hospitals, accepting health insurance patients, transparency of prices, receiving all the services in one stage, providing correct information for patients, improving information services, providing services at an international standard, treatment approach based on patient-centred care, clinical audit, continuous quality improvement, educational processes, competing with global competitors, investing in new technology, staff and organisation development, medical records, physicians familiar with the English language, providing staff throughout the day, and last but not least, patient safety.
Medical tourists’ perceptions
A patient’s main concern is performance quality. If the perception is positive and exceeds the patient’s expectations, one can conclude that quality services have been delivered.
Preparing and analysing data regarding the patient’s perception of service quality may help hospitals to detect flaws and compete against rivals on superior service quality.
Studies explore the patient’s perception of provided services quality along with the following criteria: desirable admission services, low waiting lists, nutrition services, affordable rooms, high communication skills of staff, good behaviour of staff, transparency of cost, new medical equipment, a variety of provided medical services, and providing timely care.
Medical tourists’ concerns
Since the medical tourism industry is growing rapidly, its challenges and flaws should not be ignored. Patient awareness is increasing, so the health centres should attach a high priority to concerns, perceptions and even the emotions of their targeted patients.
According to studies, the issues where medical tourists have concerns cover follow-up methods, qualification and skills of doctors, personal safety, hospital infections, legal protection, and the cost of medical services.
The role of quality during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Management of this pandemic requires additional, specialised measures to protect patients, visitors and staff while reducing transmission of the disease. Following quality standards regarding infection control, crisis management and preparing and implementing specialised policies and procedures lead the way to achieve the desired quality of care. Establishing these standards provide the confidence that patients and staff are safe.
Conclusion
Continuous improvement of “service quality”, which is the result of identifying the demands and expectations of customers and organisational awareness (utility of activities and cost and benefit calculations), can generate targets such as effectiveness, efficiency and return of investment in a suitable timeframe.
While COVID-19 has changed the expectations of patients about sustainability of health systems, by applying principles of quality management and establishing accreditation standards, patients can be made aware of sustainability standards, the organisation’s corporative social responsibility (CSR) and its commitment to quality. Investing in quality and accreditation means a return on investment, cost savings, and taking steps to move beyond reactive and even proactive quality management, and toward predictive quality management.
Resources:
1- The effect of perceived service quality, health tourists’ satisfaction and trust on the medical services in hospitals and medical centers of Mashhad, khorakian, Alireza and et all, 2017
2- Medical Tourism: Establishing a Sustainable Medical Facility, Durgham Darwazeh, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2011
3- New Markets, New Patient Expectations, European patient experience and innovation congress webinar, June 18th 2020, Irving Stackpole & Elizabeth Ziemba
4- Temos International HealthCare Accreditation Standards “Certificate of Compliance: COVID-19 Safe- Minimizing the risk of transmission”. Version 3.0
About the author:
Mahshid Moeini Naeini is the Founder and CEO of Sarir Salamat Maham, a consultancy company based in Teheran, Iran which represents Temos International in the markets of Iran and neighbouring countries. She has a Masters Degree in Health Care Management.
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