This study presents a novel method for investigating the service quality of dental care and identifying the key drivers of patient satisfaction. Dental service quality was examined by combining use of Donabedian's and Kano's models. Thirty one service attributes were investigated and divided into structure, process and outcome aspects based on the framework of Donabedian. The key drivers of patient satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a dental service were clarified using a specially designed questionnaire based on the perspective of Kano's model. The sample comprised 400 adults at a Taiwan hospital. While investigating 31 service attributes, based on the perspective of Kano model, 12 attributes were classified as must be factors, which could be considered key drivers of patient satisfaction; 15 attributes were classified as attractive factors; and another four attributes were classified as one-dimensional factors. This investigation proposed a heuristic interpretation of the priority for improving service attributes. The patient satisfaction (PS) coefficient and patient perceived satisfaction level represented the rank-order of patient requirements. The analytical results showed that hospital administrators should focus on improving the service attributes with lower satisfaction level, particularly those with high PS coefficient absolution value.
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