Communication with patients and the quality of medical services (on the example of handling patients at the reception desk)

Purpose: The communication between a patient and the staff of a clinic's reception desk forms the patient's ideas and opinions about the entire health care facility. The purpose of this article was to analyze the assessment of the level of service provided by selected private health care facilities, on the example of handling the patient at the reception desk. Design/methodology/approach: The SERVQUAL service quality assessment method has been used in the research. The research was carried out in seven private health care facilities located in the Silesian Voivodship, in the cities with a population of between 100,000 and 250,000. 220 patients have been surveyed. The survey consisted of two questionnaires, a section concerning the determination of the weights of specific criteria and the section with demographic questions. Both surveys included 22 statements each, and there were also 4 demographic questions included. The assessments were made by giving points on the Likert scale of 1-7. The study was carried out from January to March 2022. Findings: The conducted analysis of the level of the studied service allowed for identifying key areas that require corrective actions. The biggest gaps between patient assessments and expectations concern such aspects as: response time, reliability, and empathy. Research limitations/implications: Due to the fact that the worst-rated areas are closely related to communication, it is advisable to take corrective actions on the part of management as soon as possible. It is also advisable to conduct a study on the diagnosis of errors made in patient’s service during registration on the example of other health care entities. Practical implications: The application of the SERVQUAL method enabled to diagnose the expected and obtained quality level of the tested service in the opinion of patients of selected NZOZs. Social implications: The results of the conducted research confirm that effective and efficient use of communication in the process of providing health care services influences the maximization of patients’ satisfaction and, as a result, it requires systematic investments in the development of human potential. Originality/value: In the conducted study, a model of the quality of patients service in reception desk in non-public health care units was proposed. The evaluation criteria were presented in the model in order to diagnose dimensions that are perceived well by the patients and those that, in their opinion, require improvement.