Why Are Patients Dissatisfied With And Complain Of Health Care Service In Large Teaching Hospitals In Korea?

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify current situations related to customers` dissatisfactions and their complaint behaviors and to determine the factors influencing on the complain behaviour of consumers to hospital services in large referral hospitals.

Methods: The study subjects were consumers who had experienced hospital services of a large hospital in Seoul. For this study, a questionnaire was developed to interview the customer experiencing the use of hospital services. A survey was undertaken from 7th to 14th October 2005. Total numbers of the respondent were 250.

Results: The results of this study are as follows:

1. Of the questions, in the section of facility and environment in the hospitals visited, the respondents showed the highest dissatisfaction rate on medical costs. In the section of `medical professionalism`, many participants expressed dissatisfaction in medical examination and curative effect. In the section of `staff kindness`, patients showed low satisfaction rate on `the attitude of reception staff`, and in the section of `explanations and consideration`, most of respondents dissatisfied with `explanation of post-procedures`, Among all the components of dissatisfaction section, `convenience of use` showed the highest dissatisfaction rate of respondent.

2. The differences of customers` dissatisfactions on medical service between socio-demographic groups showed no statistically significance, except age group. Among the younger group, the rate of customers` dissatisfactions was higher than other age groups, which was statistically significant.

3. As the results of customers` complaint behaviors to medical service showed, the number of respondents, expressed `I said negatively`, were largest (117), the next was `I did nothing` as the frequency of 82, and `I did not go to the hospital again`, `I asked the solutions to the complaints directly` and `I accused it to the authorities concerned` appeared in the order. The rate of express `do not take any actions` was 32.8% and `do private actions` was 48% which was highest.

4. The differences of dissatisfaction on medical service between complaint behaviors groups, except no action group and private action group, were no statistically significant.

5. The differences of complaint behaviors between socio-demographic groups were statistically significant, except income, occupation, the level of living standard, the state of disease.

Conclusions: As this study showed, customers had similar criteria to evaluate hospital services provided by large teaching hospitals. The rate of dissatisfactions and complains among the costumer of large teaching hospitals was relatively high. It suggest that each hospital should expect the dissatisfactions and complains of their customer and they also should develop some measures for private actions group not to make public complaints actions, such as establishing customer complain unit or suggestion boxes, especially for the age groups, mid 20s to mid 40s and high education group. To cope with and to manage consumers` dissatisfaction and the complaint behaviors, every hospital should make efforts to improve the quality of services, to identify the causes of the consumers` dissatisfaction actively, and to establish new unit/department and developing long term or short term marketing strategy.