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1 – 10 of 18Myron D. Fottler, Richard M. Shewchuk and Stephen J. OʼConnor
A total of 522 affiliates of the American College of Health Care Executives were surveyed to determine job attributes which might be considered in their decisions to remain in, or…
Abstract
A total of 522 affiliates of the American College of Health Care Executives were surveyed to determine job attributes which might be considered in their decisions to remain in, or leave, their current position. Both decisions were highly influenced by intrinsic job attributes such as freedom in decision-making, opportunities for personal growth / self-development, caliber of the management team, and opportunities for advancement / promotion. There was a high degree of correlation between the rankings of attributes affecting both the retention and the recruitment decisions. However, financial attributes such as salary and the financial condition of the organization were more influential in the recruitment decision than in the retention decision. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Haiyan Qu, Elena A. Platonova, Karen Norman Kennedy and Richard M. Shewchuk
The aim of this study is to examine patient satisfaction with non‐physician staff as related to patient demographics, satisfaction with physician, and intentions to recommend…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine patient satisfaction with non‐physician staff as related to patient demographics, satisfaction with physician, and intentions to recommend their physicians to others.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted at two internal medicine primary care clinics affiliated with a major university health system. A latent class analysis was used to detect patient subpopulations based on profiles of response for five satisfaction‐with‐staff indicators.
Findings
The response rate was 86.46 percent (479 of 554). Analyses revealed four patient subpopulation segments. Segment I (n=241) patients uniformly indicated a high level of satisfaction across the five satisfaction‐with‐staff indicators. These patients tended to be older and less educated, and have lower incomes relative to patients in other segments. Patients in Segment II (n=83) expressed satisfaction with staff caring and need accommodation, but dissatisfaction with access to their physicians. Patients in Segment III (n=51) indicated high levels of satisfaction with access and low levels of satisfaction with staff caring and need accommodation. Segment IV (n=104) patients uniformly expressed low levels of satisfaction across all indicators and generally were younger and more educated, as well as had higher incomes than other patients.
Originality/value
Patients have different expectations from their non‐physician staff, e.g. younger, more affluent, and educated patients expressed dissatisfaction with staff. This suggests that non‐physician staff should provide extra/further responsiveness to have these patients' needs met. Generally, approaches that are differentially targeted to specific patient subgroups are likely to be more efficient and patient‐oriented than undifferentiated approaches.
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Stephen J O'Connor, Hanh Q Trinh and Richard M Shewchuk
In the near future, today's medical students will be working increasingly in a variety of settings and directly interacting with the public. Although a patient's interaction with…
Abstract
In the near future, today's medical students will be working increasingly in a variety of settings and directly interacting with the public. Although a patient's interaction with a physician ordinarily represents only one aspect of a specific health experience, one could argue that the quality of this particular interaction is of considerable importance to patients. Central to this interaction is the notion of service orientation, which has been defined as those attitudes and behaviors that influence the quality of the interaction between service providers and consumers. This chapter presents a description of research on the concept of service orientation among a sample of medical students. The results indicate that medical students exhibiting greater levels of service orientation are those who are older, female, married, and who place greater emphasis on their future incomes and perceptions of patient expectations for the service quality dimensions of responsiveness and tangibles.
Richard M. Shewchuk, Stephen J. O'Connor, Myron D. Fottler and Hanh Q. Trinh
While both health services and management research have been discussed in different literature streams in recent years, there has been no research on how scholars who conduct…
Abstract
While both health services and management research have been discussed in different literature streams in recent years, there has been no research on how scholars who conduct health care management research view the research process. How do they conceptualize it: what are the dominant themes? The present study is the first to examine the research process from the perspective of the health care management researcher. Focus group meetings were held during the Health Care Management Division's pre-conference workshop at the 1996 Academy of Management meeting. In these meetings, a nominal group technique method was employed to get participants to generate attributes that were personally salient in terms of what “research” meant to them. Thirty distinct attributes were eventually derived, and these were inscribed onto sets (decks) of thirty index cards.
Elena A. Platonova and Richard M. Shewchuk
The purpose of this paper is to examine how patient assessment of primary care physician (PCP) communication is related to patient satisfaction with the PCP, patient perception of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how patient assessment of primary care physician (PCP) communication is related to patient satisfaction with the PCP, patient perception of PCP professional competence, patient assessment of the relationship with the doctor and patient demographic characteristics using a segmentation approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors surveyed 514 adult patients waiting for appointments with their PCPs in two US primary care clinics. A latent class analysis was used to identify mutually exclusive unobserved homogeneous classes of patients.
Findings
The authors identified three distinct classes/groups with regard to patient assessment of physician communication and the physician-patient relationship. The largest group (53 percent of the sample) assessed their PCP communication and other doctor-patient relationship aspects as excellent. However, 37 percent provided mostly negative assessments, expressed high general dissatisfaction with the physician and disagreed with the statement that their PCP was well qualified to manage their health problems. These patients were on average more educated and affluent and the group included more males. About 10 percent of patients expressed generally lower satisfaction with the PCP, though their dissatisfaction was not as extreme as in the highly dissatisfied group.
Research limitations/implications
Further studies are needed to help physicians develop skills to communicate with different patients.
Originality/value
Patient segmentation can be an important tool for healthcare quality improvement particularly for emerging approaches to primary care such as patient-centered care.
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Monty L. Lynn, Richard S. Lytle and Samo Bobek
Firms with a strong service orientation – that is, those whose organizational policies, practices, and procedures support service excellence – often have a competitive edge in…
Abstract
Firms with a strong service orientation – that is, those whose organizational policies, practices, and procedures support service excellence – often have a competitive edge in mature Western markets. In transitional economies, however – such as within the newly opened markets of Central and Eastern Europe – the impact of service orientation on current and future firm performance is largely unknown. Particularly, in areas where service quality has lagged, enhancing service orientation might catapult a firm’s competitive standing ahead of the pack. On the other hand, boosting service orientation in markets where demand continues to outpace supply may add unnecessary cost, and little visible short‐term gain. In this study, the SERV*OR scale, a measure of organizational service orientation, was administered to 105 employees from two Slovenian banks – a newly established private bank and a large, older, state‐supported bank. The private bank outperformed the state bank in service orientation and in financial performance, lending support to the idea that service orientation may enhance rather than detract from firm performance in transitional markets.
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Masoud Hemmasi, Lee A. Graf and Michael R. Williams
With U.S. health care costs increasing at three times the rate of inflation and Americans spending 50 percent more on health care than any other nation, health care practitioners…
Abstract
With U.S. health care costs increasing at three times the rate of inflation and Americans spending 50 percent more on health care than any other nation, health care practitioners will most certainly continue to focus upon cost containment and budgets (Guthrie, 1991). However, as suggested by some experts (e.g. Lytle and Mokwa, 1992), managerial approaches preoccupied with containing costs and financial budgeting are no longer sufficient for success, or maybe even survival, in today's intensely competitive marketplace. The major transformations in structure that have taken place in the health care industry throughout the 1980s call for more proactive and strategic approaches to planning and managing if health care organizations are to be successful in today's highly competitive environment.