Private or Public Inpatient Care? A Comparative Study on Key Factors Influencing the Patient Satisfaction in a Mixed Healthcare System

Abstract

The aim of the article is to examine the determinants that affect the inpatient satisfaction of private and public hospitals across the Colombo District in Sri Lanka. This study applies the principles derived through an empirical analysis which includes SERVQUAL model, Press Graney Associates Model and PubHosQual Model. The study sample contains a total of 300 inpatients. A questionnaire was developed with the likert scale. The results indicate that the inpatients of the private hospitals were much more satisfied with the service quality than the public hospital patients. The results also suggest that the private hospital patients were more satisfied in the areas of “art of care and infrastructure” where the public sector satisfied “administration requirements and effectiveness of treatments”. Finally it was seen that “Art of care” was the most affecting factor which was followed by “effectiveness of treatments”.