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The main purpose of this paper is to outline the antecedents of patient satisfaction in the field of medical tourism (MT) applying extant literature and to develop a conceptual model based on the review.

This paper presents a thorough review of prior studies related to the antecedents of patient satisfaction in the MT sector. Moreover, it provides the theoretical base that helped the researcher to identify significant relationship between the patient satisfaction and its antecedents.

The researchers identified the prominent antecedents of patient satisfaction and present the potential interrelationships between different antecedents of patient satisfaction such as treatment quality, cost attractiveness, destination image and service quality with patient satisfaction based on the review.

The results have momentous practical implications as they will help researchers to better understand the antecedents of patient satisfaction and their potential inter linkages with patient satisfaction in MT sector. The conceptual model derived from the review may guide the actions of researchers as well as practitioners in the MT industry as a whole. The present study provides insights for further research in the MT sector and thereby helps to further enrich the existing theoretical base of the MT.

The study brings together the scattered knowledge from the broad and extensive range of medical or health tourism and cognate literature which indicate ideological differences among various aspects of MT as well as potential factors determining patient satisfaction in MT sector (antecedents of satisfaction). The newly developed model incorporates a new construct called “treatment quality” as different from “service quality,” which is a widely used construct to explain customer satisfaction. The antecedents of patient satisfaction and their inter-linkages with patient satisfaction provide a sound theoretical foundation for the future studies.

The most challenging aspect of hospital design is the creation of an environment that heals rather than the one acting as a barrier to healing. Much has not been done in the aspect of ascertaining the level of impact “indoor environmental quality (IEQ)” has on building occupants in healthcare facilities. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of IEQ on patients' health and well-being.

The study investigates the hypothesis that four IEQ parameters (thermal quality, acoustic quality, lighting quality and indoor air quality [IAQ]) influence patients' overall satisfaction with the performance of hospital wards. Questionnaire responses were sought from the patients as the main occupants of hospital ward buildings. A proposed weighted structural model for IEQ establishing the relationship between IEQ parameters, patients' overall satisfaction and patients' health outcome was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The most influential IEQ parameters on patients' overall satisfaction with IEQ in hospital wards are thermal quality, IAQ and lighting quality. The findings from this study revealed that the parameters of influence on patients' overall satisfaction and health outcomes vary with hospital ward orientation and design configuration.

This study has explored the need for the integration of all factors of IEQ at the building design stage towards providing a hospital environmental setting that reflects occupants' requirements and expectations and also promotes patient healing processes. This should be the focus of architects and healthcare managers and providers.

As healthcare continues to become more expensive and complex, considering the voice of the patient in the design and operation of healthcare practices is important. Wound care and rural healthcare scenarios pose additional complexities for providers and patients. This study sought to identify key determinants of patient service quality in wound care.

Patients at the wound care/ostomy clinic (WOC) in a rural hospital were surveyed using the Kano model. The Kano model enables the categorization of quality attributes based on the attributes' contribution to the subject's overall satisfaction (and dissatisfaction). Chi-square goodness-of-fit testing, multinomial analysis and power analysis were then used to determine the Kano categories for each satisfaction-related attribute.

The analyses resulted in 14 one-dimensional attributes and 3 indeterminable attributes. For the one-dimensional attributes, customer satisfaction is directly proportional to the level of performance for that attribute. The one-dimensional attributes included providing correct care on the first, provision of necessary supplies for care, appropriately qualified medical staff and confidence in care provided by medical staff, among others. Understanding the attributes important to the patient drive patient-centered care, which improves positive patient outcomes and recovery. These attributes can then be used by healthcare professionals to design patient-centric processes and services. This research provides a framework for incorporating the voice of the patient into healthcare services.

While the research methodology can be used in other healthcare settings, the findings are not generalizable to other wound care clinics. This research was conducted in one small, rural hospital. In addition, the sample size was small due to the size of the wound clinic; therefore, an analysis of the differences between demographics could not be performed.

Considering the perspectives of rural wound care patients is important, as the patients are an under-served population with unique challenges related to patient care. The research findings detail rural patients' expectations during wound care treatments, which enable the clinic to focus on improving patient satisfaction. This research contributes to understanding the factors that are important to patient satisfaction in wound care. Further, the methodology presented can be applied to other healthcare settings.

While studies exist using the Kano model in healthcare and the literature is sparse in rural healthcare, this is the first case study using the Kano model in wound care to understand patient preferences.

Although the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment influences patient’s overall health-care experience, health-care infrastructure and equipment are not always managed and maintained with the attention required. This is due mainly to the complexity of health-care infrastructure and equipment and shortage of maintenance budget. This study aims to determine if patient’s satisfaction of core health-care business is mediated by the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment.

This cross-sectional study comprises 622 adult patients at the Physician OPD and Polyclinic of Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital, Tamale Teaching hospital and Cape Coast Teaching hospital in Ghana. Structural equation model Smart PLS was used to analyse the data.

The study results showed that the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment has a positive significant influence (mediation) on the relationship between health-care delivery and patient’s satisfaction as well as the relationship between adequacy of health-care resources and patient’s satisfaction. However, it was shown not to have a positive significant influence (mediation) on the relationship between quality of health-care personnel and patients’ satisfaction as well as health-care administrative process and patient’s satisfaction.

First, the study findings are centred on cross-sectional data, which capture the opinion of the patients at a specific time period instead of over a period of time. Consequently, in future, though difficult to achieve, a longitudinal study can be piloted to provide more insight. Second, the data was collected from only one country (Ghana); thus, the ability to generalise the results may be a challenge.

The implication of this study is that there is the need to prudently maintain hospital infrastructure and equipment in good working condition as it has a positive effect on patients’ satisfaction of their overall health-care experience.

Most studies have concentrated on patient’s health-care experience. This study extends the knowledge of patient’s health-care experience by determining the mediating role of quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment on the relationship between patient’s satisfaction and core health-care business. There are limited studies of such nature in Ghana. Therefore, this study will provide invaluable empirical data for the health-care sector of a developing African country.

This study aims to measure the level of satisfaction among women with childbirth services provided at public health facilities. Further, to analyse the impact of their socio-economic and obstetric characteristics on their level of satisfaction.

To accomplish these objectives a cross-sectional survey was conducted in two districts of an Indian state, Bihar. Structured questionnaire was developed based on the scale proposed by Okumu and Oyugi (2018) both for vaginal and caesarean birth patients. For empirical analysis multiple linear regression model was employed.

Results suggest that majority of mothers are satisfied with the care they received during childbirth, regardless of whether they chose a caesarean (55%) or vaginal delivery (53%). Women report the lowest levels of satisfaction with postpartum care and the privacy that was preserved by healthcare personnel at health facility. Further the study also confirms the association between patient’s socio-economic characteristics and their satisfaction level.

This is the first study of its kind to highlight the situation of public healthcare system in Bihar, which is the third most populated state in India with poor social and health indicators.

The study investigates the relationship between hospital environmental factors and the well-being of geriatric in-patients. It aims to identify the impact of architectural design on comfort, safety, privacy and stress levels experienced by elderly patients during their hospital stays.

Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research assesses the experiences of 100 geriatric in-patients across various hospital types through surveys, observational checklists and state anxiety measurements. The methodology involves examining architectural features, patient perceptions and correlations among environmental variables and patient experiences. Statistical analyses, including correlations and chi-square tests, were employed to discern associations between environmental variables and patient experiences.

The research identified key architectural features significantly impacting geriatric patients' experiences. Factors such as sturdy beds, furniture quantity, lighting conditions, proximity to facilities and ward occupancy levels were found to influence spatial, sensory and social comfort. Notably, proximity to facilities and control over the immediate environment were crucial for self-control and safety perceptions. Privacy, highly valued by patients, correlated with the presence of curtains and ward occupancy. Moreover, patient stress levels exhibited correlations with autonomy, privacy and ward occupancy.

This research offers significant insights into the criticality of specific architectural elements in enhancing comfort and reducing stress for geriatric in-patients. These findings hold substantial value for healthcare facility design, emphasizing the need to prioritize certain design aspects to promote the well-being of elderly patients during hospitalization.

The scope of this study is to explore and summarize the pool of dimensions, models and measurement techniques of service quality used in healthcare services and to propose a comprehensive conceptual model for practitioners and researchers.

This research employs a comprehensive review of available literature by using multiple keywords on different electronic repositories using the recommendations of the PRISMA approach for the selection of articles. A critical analysis of available studies helped in compiling a list of core service quality dimensions in healthcare services.

This paper presents a comprehensive account of different dimensions and their measurement items used by various researchers to assess service quality in healthcare systems. Most of the researchers have used SERVQUAL model either in its original or modified form while the others have proposed and used totally different dimensions to assess the service quality in healthcare. Many dimensions are just an existing dimension of SERVQUAL that has undergone a name change while others are completely new. The dimensions used by many researchers have items drawn from more than one dimension of SERVQUAL model. The availability of so many dimensions and models adds to the confusion that researchers and practicing managers experience when determining the appropriate model to be used in their work. To mitigate this confusion, there is a need to develop a comprehensive model; the current work is an attempt to meet this need. Through our analysis, we identify four major service quality dimensions: clinical quality, infrastructural quality, relationship and managerial quality and propose a model named CIRMQUAL.

After exploring all available models in the domain of healthcare, this research presents the best possible areas to enhance the quality of healthcare services. It also enhances the research insights for academicians and working professionals by developing and proposing a comprehensive model for measuring healthcare service quality. The proposed model covers almost all of the service quality dimensions used by other researchers and will make the choice of dimensions/model easy for the future researchers/practitioners interested in measuring and improving the quality of services offered by their healthcare units. Such a comprehensive model has not been developed by any researcher thus far.

The objective of this study is to systematically identify, categorize and assess the driving factors and interdependencies associated with various types of healthcare waste. The study specifically focuses on waste that has been managed or is recommended for treatment through the application of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodologies.

To accomplish the study’s objectives, interpretive structural modeling (ISM) was utilized. This analytical tool aided in quantifying the driving power and dependencies of each form of healthcare waste, referred to as “enablers,” as well as their related variables. As a result, these enablers were classified into four distinct categories: autonomous, dependent, linkage and drivers or independents.

In the healthcare sector, the “high cost” (HC) emerges as an autonomous variable, operating with substantial independence. Conversely, variables such as skill wastage, poor service quality and low patient satisfaction are identified as dependent variables. These are distinguished by their low driving power and high dependency. On the flip side, variables related to transportation, production, processing and defect waste manifest strong driving forces and minimal dependencies, categorizing them as independent factors. Notably, inventory waste (IW) is highlighted as a salient issue within the healthcare domain, given its propensity to engender additional forms of waste.

Employing the ISM model, along with comprehensive case study analyses, provides a detailed framework for examining the complex hierarchies of waste existing within the healthcare sector. This methodological approach equips healthcare leaders with the tools to accurately pinpoint and eliminate unnecessary expenditures, thereby optimizing operational efficiency and enhancing patient satisfaction. Of particular significance, the study calls attention to the key role of IW, which often acts as a trigger for other forms of waste in the sector, thus identifying a crucial area requiring focused intervention and improvement.

This research reveals new insights into how waste variables are structured in healthcare, offering a useful guide for managers looking to make their waste-reduction strategies more efficient. These insights are highly relevant not just for healthcare providers but also for the administrators and researchers who are helping to shape the industry. Using the classification and ranking model developed in this study, healthcare organizations can more easily spot and address common types of waste. In addition, the model serves as a useful tool for practitioners, helping them gain a deeper, more detailed understanding of how different factors are connected in efforts to reduce waste.

Doctor–medical institution collaboration (DMIC) services are an emerging service mode in focal online health communities (OHCs). This new service mode is anticipated to affect user satisfaction and doctors' engagement behaviors. However, whether and how DMIC occurs is still ambiguous because the topic is rarely examined. To bridge this gap, this study explores doctors' participation in DMIC services and its effects on their online performance, as well as its effect on patients' evaluation of them on OHC platforms.

The authors propose hypotheses based on structural holes theory. A unique dataset obtained from one of the most popular OHCs in China is used to test the hypotheses, and difference-in-differences estimation is adopted to test the causality of the relationship.

The results demonstrate that providing DMIC services improves doctors' online consultation performance and patients' evaluations of them but has no significant effect on doctors' knowledge-sharing performance on OHC platforms. Doctors' knowledge-sharing performance and consultation performance mediate the relationship between participation in DMIC services and patients' evaluation of doctors. Regarding doctors' participation in DMIC services, its impact on doctors' consultation performance and patients' evaluation of them is weaker for doctors with higher professional titles than for doctors with lower professional titles.

The findings clarify the value creation mechanisms of online collaboration between doctors and medical institutions and thereafter facilitate doctors' participation in DMIC services and enhance the sustainable development of OHCs.

Drawing upon the stimulus-organism-response model, this study aims to explore the impact of soft aspects of service quality on revisit intention through the mechanism of perceived empathy.

For the examination of the hypothesized relationships, the study adopts structural equation modelling to analyse the data of 562 respondents (i.e. 281 family members and 281 inpatients).

The empirical results suggest that service quality increased family member empathy perception, which, in turn, improved inpatients’ revisit intentions.

Past studies have focused on the roles of overall service quality. The authors have extended the literature by examining the specific but important aspect of service quality and its effects on emotional response. Importantly, the study explains that the affective reactions of a patient’s family, fastened with perceived empathy, have a central role in influencing the patients’ subsequent reactions. Moreover, the prior studies collected the data either from hospital employees or patients. However, in the present study, the authors used a unique sample (family members as well as patients) to have a deeper understanding. Thus, the study enhances the literature on the stimuli-response (i.e. service quality – revisit intentions) relationship in the context of service marketing in general and health care in specific. Important academic and managerial contributions and recommendations for future research are discussed.