Effects of changes in ownership of the Polish hospital on the patients' opinion about its functioning.

System changes in health care centers have been directed at introducing such marketing elements into the Polish health care system as managerial approach to managing the centers and contracting medical services and quality management. High quality of the medical services and patients' satisfaction became the key factors deciding about "the brand" of a health care center. The aim of the work was to assess the effect of changes in ownership of the hospital on the patients' opinion about its functioning. Patients' satisfaction survey was carried out through an anonymous questionnaire among 2702 respondents before and 2795 respondents after the transformation of the hospital. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze the collected empirical material. The assessment of the functioning of the admission center and hospital wards was significantly higher among the respondents asked after the transformation of the hospital as opposed to the assessment before it. Transforming the public hospital in Poland into a commercial company helped improve its functioning in the opinion of patients. There is a need to carry out further systematic research into the patients' satisfaction better adjust the hospital's offer to the needs of the hospitalized people.