Are Patients Satisfied with Services from Super-specialty Hospitals? Evidence from India

This study aims to investigate the antecedents of patient satisfaction in healthcare organizations, particularly in the context of a developing nation, India. A conceptual model is developed to test the relationship between five types of healthcare services—doctor, nurse, supportive, auxiliary, and technical—on patient satisfaction. The moderating effect of administrative services in influencing patient satisfaction is also examined. In this cross-sectional research, a survey instrument was developed, and data were collected from 628 patients from super-specialty hospitals in Tiruchirappalli (from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India). First, we checked the measurement properties of the survey instrument by using structural equation modeling with Lisrel software. We performed hierarchical regression to test the hypothesized relationships. The findings indicate that (a) doctor services, (b) nurse services, (c) supportive services, and (d) technical services are significantly and positively associated with patient satisfaction. The results also showed that administrative services moderate the relationship between (a) doctor services, (b) auxiliary services, and (c) technical services and patient satisfaction. This research underscores the importance of administrative services and provides valuable insights to administrators and policymakers about the antecedents to patient satisfaction. The conceptual model significantly contributes to advancing theory in the healthcare industry.