The relationship of patient satisfaction level with word of mouth on health services: systematic review

INTRODUCTION

One easy way for patients to get information about services is to ask someone who has received the same service before. This is called WOM. Saputra et al found that WOM marketing had a significant effect on patient satisfaction at the Prima Husada hospital in Malang with a sign t=0.00.¹ Results of research by Wuda et al found that service quality had a positive and significant effect on patient satisfaction with a value of 0.642.² Higher patient satisfaction, higher desire for positive WOM communication to family, relatives and acquaintances.

According to Purbandari et al consumer satisfaction is very important for companies because it will make consumer’s willingness to deliver positive news stronger. He found that service quality has a positive effect on patient satisfaction with a CR=2.53, the estimated value of 0.63 has a positive direction with a probability of 0.01.³ Therefore, it is important for a hospital to make patients satisfied with the services. So that they are expected to be able to tell their family, relatives, friends, and acquaintances which indirectly is also a promotion for the hospital.

Hospital, as directly receives patient referrals from primary health facilities, is need to provide excellent service to satisfy patients. Thus, patients who have received treatment are expected to be able to share their experiences and recommend hospital to their family, relatives, friends, and acquaintances.

METHODS

This type of research is a systematic review. Data were synthesized using a narrative method by grouping similar extracted data according to the results measured to answer the objectives. The keywords used in the literature search were “patient satisfaction” AND “WOM”. The database sources used in searching the literature in this research are Google scholar and PubMed. Inclusion criteria in this study are: a. Journals published in 2017-2019; b. Journal that discusses patient satisfaction in hospitals and WOM; c. The research was conducted by involving all research designs

The literatures which match to the inclusion criteria were collected and a journal summary was made including the name of the researcher, the name of the journal, the title of the study, the method, and the results of the study. The summary of the literatures is presented into a table sorted alphabetically and the published year. To further clarify the analysis of the abstract and full text of the literatures were read and observed. The literature summary was analyzed by contents contained research objectives and research results/ findings. Analysis used content analysis. Data that has been collected is then looked for similarities and differences and then discussed to draw conclusions.

RESULTS

Table 1 shows the characteristics of the literatures regarding the relationship between patient satisfaction and WOM (Table 1).

Table 2 shows that from the review on 5 literatures discussing the relationship between patient satisfaction and WOM, 4 out of 5 articles found that there was a significant relationship between patient satisfaction and WOM on health services (Table 2).

DISCUSSION

Based on a literature review conducted in 5 literatures related to the relationship between patient satisfaction and WOM, the results of 4 articles stated that there was a significant relationship between patient satisfaction and WOM on health services. The smallest significance number is =0.000, and the largest coefficient value is 0.533, which means a change of every increase in patient satisfaction will cause a change in WOM to health services by 53.3% (articles 1, 3, 4 and 5).^4-7 There is only 1 article which finds that there is no relationship between patient satisfaction and WOM with a value of 0.117.⁸

Customer satisfaction, in this case the patient, is one of the keys to the company's success. Satisfied customers will tend to be loyal and convey positive WOM to a brand or company. Companies can increase long-term profits if they succeed in satisfying customers.² WOM is one of the marketing communications tools such as advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and others, but WOM is different from other tools. The main difference is that other tools are managed and controlled by the company while WOM cannot be controlled because it is a communication between consumers discussing the good or bad of the goods or services they buy.⁹

Currently, WOM is starting to become one of the most widely used communication tools by companies, because consumers often feel that the information conveyed is more reliable so that companies begin to pay more attention.¹⁰ People not only express their opinions about a service directly to others, but also through social media like a review of a service or product of a company. This makes the information grow faster. The positive side are if the reviews are good, the company will be recognized faster and even go viral, but if the reviews are not good, the company may lose customers, and even make its reputation down

Hospitals as health care providers need to pay attention to this phenomenon. Take advantage of opportunities how patients are satisfied with health services and convey the good experience to the public so that they are interested.

CONCLUSION

There is a significant relationship between patient satisfaction and WOM on health services. Health service places such as hospitals should pay attention to patient satisfaction with services, because it greatly affects the image of the hospital. Patients who are satisfied with health services will share their experiences with their family or friends. This is indirectly a form of marketing for hospitals that are not controlled by the hospital. The information, gotten from WOM, tends to be more effective in making someone interested in visiting a service place.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Author would like to say thank to research and community service department Esa Unggul university, as well as all of those who have assisted in the implementation of this research.

Funding: No funding sources

Conflict of interest: None declared

Ethical approval: Not required

REFERENCES

1. 1. Saputra AD, Hidayat MK. The Effect of Service Quality and Word of Mouth on Patient Satisfaction at Prima Husada Hospital Malang. J RSPH Khafid. 2018;9(2):236-46.
2. 2. Wuda RL, Suprapti NWS. The Influence of Service Quality on Satisfaction and Word of Mouth at Guido National Hospital Valadares Dili Timor Leste. E-J Ekonomi Bisnis Universitas Udayana. 2017;6(11):3887-916.
3. 3. Purbandari E, Sugandini D, Sutiono HT. Word of Mouth as A Consequence of Customer Satisfaction. J Service Management Marketing. 2018;11(1):179-86.
4. 4. Optimasi D, Irawan B, Suroso I. The role of service quality in building satisfaction and word-of-mouth communication for outpatients at the Dr. Soebandi District Hospital Jember. J Bisnis Manajemen. 2018;12(2):191-203.
5. 5. Primantara IMW, Jatra IM. The Role of Satisfaction in Mediation of Service Quality to Wom at Husadha Surya Public Hospital Denpasar. E-J Manajemen Unud. 2017;6(7):3794-819.
6. 6. Li-Chun Hsu. Investigating Effect of Service Encounter, Value, and Satisfaction on Word of Mouth: An Outpatient Service Context. Int J Enviromental Res Public Health. 2018;(15):132.
7. 7. Tjintiadewi NK, Rahyuda IK. The Influence of Service Quality and Price Perception on Patient Satisfaction and Wom at Prima Medika General Hospital. E-J Manajemen Unud. 2018;7(11):6184-211.
8. 8. Wibowo HK, Junaidi S. The Impact of Service Quality, Patient Satisfaction, and Trust on Positive Word of Mouth (WOM) of Dental Clinic’s Patients. J Int Conference Proceedings. 2019;2(3):68-78.
9. 9. Kotler P, Keller KL. Marketing Management. 14^th Edition. Eaglewood Cliffs, New Jesey, Prentice Hall. 2011.
10. 10. El Ouardighi F, Feichtinger G, Grass D, Hartl RF, Kort PM. Advertising and Quality-Dependent Word- of-Mouth in a Contagion Sales Model. J Optimization Theory Applic. 2016;170(1):323-42.