코로나19 확산으로 개인의 비대면 활동이 증가함에 따라 의료정보를 얻기 위해 의료기관 웹사이트와 모바일 콘텐츠 활용이 증가하고 있다. 본 연구에서 제시한 가설들을 검정하기 위해 구조방정식 분석을 실시한 결과, 소형병원 웹사이트와 모바일 콘텐츠의 e-서비스품질의 모든 하위 요인들인 이용편리성, 보안성, 반응성, 디자인성, 의료정보제공성 요인은 관계의 질에 유의한 영향을 미치고 있었으며, 관계의 질은 e-충성도에 유의한 영향을 미치고 있었다. 또한, 구조모형의 적합도는 χ2/df=2.021, NFI=.954, TLI=.969, CFI=.976, RMSEA=.046으로 모두 기준치를 상회하였다. 이와 같은 가설검정 결과를 통해 소형병원들은 웹사이트와 모바일 콘텐츠 운영에 있어 사용자들에게 빠르고 정확한 응답을 할 수 있는 시스템 개발을 통해 이용자들과의 관계의 질을 향상시키며, 또한 e-서비스품질과 관계의 질 향상을 통해 e-충성도 를 향상시킬 필요가 있다. 향후 연구에서는 소형병원 이외에 대형병원에 대한 실증연구를 통해 비대면 의료정보 탐색에 대한 e-서비스품질을 더 명확히 측정할 수 있는 요인 및 측정변수 개발이 필요할 것이다.

As the number of medical tourist continues to increase over the last decade, there is an emergent need to manage the medical tourism market. However, there is a lack of hard evidence to support growth in future. Thus, this research is to investigate the effect of perceived risk on the actual service experiences of medical tourists. The data was collected from 153 foreign patients who were admitted to the hospital between August and November, 2013 at four tertiary general hospitals and one general hospital, in either Seoul or Incheon. For the statistical analysis of data, hierarchical multiple regression analysis were implemented. The major results of this study are as follows: First, foreign patients chose word-of-mouth as the major information source for the purchase decision and also as the main method to reduce risk. Second, a positive attitude toward medical tourism significantly influenced on the perceived service quality. Third, perceived risk on through all purchase stages negatively influenced on perceived risk. In "pre-visit" stage, patients perceived more risks for financing and making an uncertain decision. Meanwhile, in "during-stay" stage, culture related(food, cultural differences and communication) and finance related(additional cost) were indicated as the major factors. For "post-discharge" stage, the medical side(recovery pain, side effect & complication) and the financial side(whole time and money invested, cost for follow-up care) were ranked in the top groups. Fourth, the risk reduction in the "pre-visit" stage significantly influenced on perceived service quality compared to other stages. This indicates that foreign patients perceive a high quality of service if they do more risk reduction activities before visiting the destination. The major risk reduction methods included gathering advice of friends and family, consulting with expert, direct trial and collecting information through formal source. The implications as follows were drawn from the results of this study. First, hospitals participating in medical tourism services should use experienced patients as marketers and the stories of their experiences as marketing tools. Second, the hospitals or governments should advertise both the excellence of the medical service and the subsidiary benefits of medical tourism. Third, reducing perceived risk of medical tourists should be managed in advance. Fourth, risk reduction activities should be induced before the patients visit.

Research on medical tourism (MT) has focused more attention on the growing supply side of the market than the demand side (Gan & Frederick, 2013). There is a need therefore for more research to better understand the demand aspects of this growing industry. Most of the research on MT consumers focuses on two main factors for deciding to travel abroad for medical care: cost and quality of the service (Gan & Frederick, 2013; Lunt et al., 2011). Since both outcome and process healthcare service quality (SQ) remain a concern for medical tourists (Gan & Frederick, 2013; Lunt et al., 2011), it is important to understand medical tourists’ perceptions of their international patient experience. This study aims to investigate this topic, and address the demand side research gap, by content analyzing the online testimonials of medical tourists, who traveled to Thailand for medical care, through a SQ lens. By doing so, this research strives to provide a first-person perspective of Thailand’s MT SQ. No other studies in the MT literature have been identified that used this approach to investigate MT SQ.

Purpose - This study aims to identify the priorities of medical service quality improvement by customer satisfaction characteristics and potential customer satisfaction improvement (PCSI) index based on the dualistic quality classification of Kano Model (1984) for Comprehensive Health Screeening Center in General Hospitals and Centers only for Comprehensive Health Screening and suggest a direction for future improvement. Research design, data, and methodology - Through advanced research on health screening medical service quality, this study set four service quality factors, including tangible, human, process and supportive factors, and 39 measurement items. Based on these items, the study used 117 questions, which consist of dualistic quality factors, customer satisfaction coefficients, positive and negative questions for PCSI index and questions for current satisfaction. 300 effective samples were collected for adults in their 20s who experienced health screening service in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do and Incheon within the past two years. Collected data were input in the quality evaluation duality table to categorize quality factors and calculate customer satisfaction coefficients by Timko(1993). The study also analyzed PCSI index in comparison with current satisfaction and identified priorities in quality improvement. Results - It was found that the most urgent factors to improve the quality in both groups were adequate waiting hours and emergency response for complications, which are process factors classified as unitary quality. It is urgently needed to improve the quality as the PCSI index was high in supportive factors (complaint response team) as attractive quality in Comprehensive Health Screening Center in General Hospitals and in process factors (prevention of infection) as unitary quality in Centers only for Comprehensive Health Screening. As the PCSI index was low in space use as a tangible factor, it was found that the current level can be maintained instead of improvement. Conclusions - To improve the health screening medical service quality, it is required to focus on process factors (adequate waiting hours, emergency response for complications, prevention of infection) and supportive factors (complaint response team) among service qualities perceived by users. It is proposed to ensure continuous efforts to manage and reinforce priorities as a direction for future improvement in health screening service.

Purpose - This study attempted to construct and validate a structural model of the relationship between the quality of medical services, perceived risk, reputation and customer satisfaction, which is the main concept of the relationship between large hospitals as well as small and medium hospitals and medical consumers. Through this verification, the small and medium hospitals are to find the way for wise coping in competitive situation with large hospitals. Research design, data, and methodology - This research developed a hypothesis by constructing a structural equation that reaches the satisfaction and the relationship between reputation of perceived risk and perceived risk of service quality perceptions of customers of small and medium hospitals. Research data were collected through a questionnaire survey of respondents who had medical service experience from small and medium hospital. A total data of 252 respondents were used as the sample for the final analysis and analyzed using SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23. Results - As a result, the relationship of quality of medical service, reputation, and customer satisfaction among small and medium hospitals was consistent with the results of precedent studies, and the perceived risk has a significant impact on reputation, so the greater the perceived risk, the higher the preference for reputable medical institutions as large hospitals. In addition, it was found that the direct route from perceived risk to customer satisfaction was not significant, and reputation was found to have a full mediating effect on perceived risk and customer satisfaction. Customers who use small and medium hospitals prefer to use reputable medical institutions if their perceived risk is high, which is different from risk perception when specific targets are specified. Conclusions - In terms of the effect from customer satisfaction, not only the path of perceived risk → reputation → customer satisfaction, but also the quality of service quality → reputation → customer satisfaction. These findings suggest that small and medium hospitals are appropriately responding to competition with large hospitals, rather than focusing on the perceived risks and reputation of customers in establishing and utilizing competitive strategies to create new customers and preserve existing customers