Health provider administration functions, patient satisfaction, and loyalty: Their mediation by patient healthcare service quality perceptions

The study tested a health service quality mediation model on patient satisfaction and loyalty outcomes with provider administration functions. Participants were 7 108 outpatients from eleven public hospitals in Hubei province, China (female = 58.5%; infections and chronic diseases = 70.5%; mean age = 45.1 years, SD = 0.92 years, age range = 18-60 years). Provider administration measures included outpatient experience (physician services, waiting for area services, referral department services, and registration department services), patient satisfaction, and loyalty. SmartPLS-SEM (path modelling) and mediation data analysis indicated patients were most satisfied with physician services and waiting for area services. These represented clear communication, effective treatment, and empathetic care while minimised wait times, comfortable settings, and courteous front-desk staff contributed to the overall positive patient experience. Health service quality perceptions by patients mediated the relationship between the provider administration functions and loyalty. These findings suggest that improving perceived service quality in individual departments of hospitals can lead to higher patient contentment and long-term patient loyalty. In view of these findings, outpatient hospitals should develop and use management tools for identifying sources of improvement in perceived service quality and fostering clientele loyalty.