The mediating effect of patient satisfaction between health clinic service quality and patient loyalty

Malaysia is coming close to developed status and stated that healthcare industry is a prominent industry with the capability to generate income. Nowadays, patients have freedom of choice in healthcare providers either public or private sector. The loyal of patients is considered as a key business success factor for healthcare provider especially for public health clinic that has the potential to contribute significantly to the country’s economic transformation plan. Thus, this research chooses public health clinic at Melaka as a study because have the most favoured destination to patients for medical treatment. However, to achieve the target and remain relevant in the competitive healthcare provider, it is necessary to improve healthcare service quality model to attract more patients getting treatment. This research was carried out to identify the dimensions of healthcare service quality effecting patient satisfaction towards patient loyalty. A survey was conducted and collected 420 answers from respondents in 31 public health clinic at Melaka based upon stratified sampling and this research was fully conducted quantitatively. The modified model of service quality dimensions in healthcare context included infrastructural quality, procedural quality, interactional quality and personnel quality. The findings of Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) shown that infrastructural quality (β = 0.303, p = 0.003), procedural quality (β = 0.268, p = 0.018), and personnel quality (β = 0.450, p = 0.000) have significant effects on patient loyalty, and the most significant factor was personnel quality (β = 0.450, p = 0.000). However, interactional quality (β = 0.059, p = 0.515) was insignificant effect towards patient loyalty. Meanwhile, the finding of mediation analysis has indicated that patient satisfaction have partially mediate the relationship between the infrastructural quality on patient loyalty (β = 0.697, SE = 0.086, p < 0.00, 95% CI [0.528, 0.866]), procedural quality on patient loyalty (β = 0.761, SE = 0.067, p < 0.00, 95% CI [0.630, 0.892]) and personnel quality on patient loyalty (β = 0.710, SE = 0.065, p < 0.00, 95% CI [0.583, 0.838]). Whereas interactional quality on patient loyalty (β = 0.524, SE = 0.087, p < 0.00, 95% CI [0.354, 0.695]) showing patient satisfaction has fully mediated between these relationships. Therefore, this research has managed to produce a modified research model that has an impact on the research contribution. Furthermore, this research has filled the research objectives, other factor such as technical quality could be consider for suggestion in future research for its service delivery. As a result of this research, medical administrations are able to understand the needs of healthcare service in order to plan their marketing more strategically. Last but not least, it helps to enhance healthcare industry understanding healthcare service quality towards patient loyalty in healthcare context