Author(s): Harish B Suri and Sanjeev Verma
Background- Is it the hospital brand or the quality of infrastructure or patient care, which facilitates a decision when a patient needs to be taken into a hospital. Experience is bound to take place irrespective of the fact whether the person is going as an Outpatient or Inpatient or as a mere companion. Experience of the patient is emerging as one of the key differentiators while choosing or recommending a hospital unless it is an absolute emergency.
Purpose- The list of determinants that influence patient care can broadly be classified as Organizational or Personal or Marketing mix. The purpose of this study is to understand patient’s experience during their visit to the hospitals, qualify the organizational constructs, and then list out the determinants which can be ranked in terms of their impact.
Methodology- The study has been carried out using Netnography (Ethnography on Internet), Kozinet’s 5 step research process and manual coding. In this study, outcomes have been analyzed to identify determinants in Indian context and gauge contributions to patient experience. Results- The emergent themes pointed at the possibility of grouping variables like Systems and Processes, Transparency and Tangibles into one set which creates Value from an organizational perspective. The analysis of discussion threads (DTs) combined with findings of literature review provided an expanded view of key factors responsible for patient’s experience.
Conclusion and Implications- By focusing on Organizational Value creation and its dimensions, it is possible to pave way for practitioners to ensure positive experience for the patients. By reckoning the priority accorded by patients to identified dimensions, generating good experience is possible for promoters as well as professionals managing the hospitals. The findings show that despite low penetration of internet, Indian consumers (patients) are vociferous in articulating their experiences on social media and demanding appropriate attention with services commensurate to the money spent.