Private healthcare quality: applying a SERVQUAL model.

PURPOSE

This paper seeks to develop and test the SERVQUAL model scale for measuring Malaysian private health service quality.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The study consists of 340 randomly selected participants visiting a private healthcare facility during a three-month data collection period. Data were analyzed using means, correlations, principal component and confirmatory factor analysis to establish the modified SERVQUAL scale's reliability, underlying dimensionality and convergent, discriminant validity.

FINDINGS

Results indicate a moderate negative quality gap for overall Malaysian private healthcare service quality. Results also indicate a moderate negative quality gap on each service quality scale dimension. However, scale development analysis yielded excellent results, which can be used in wider healthcare policy and practice.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Respondents were skewed towards a younger population, causing concern that the results might not represent all Malaysian age groups.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The study's major contribution is that it offers a way to assess private healthcare service quality. Second, it successfully develops a scale that can be used to measure health service quality in Malaysian contexts.