A scale for measuring healthcare service quality incorporating patient-centred care and using a psychometric analytics framework

PURPOSE: Recent developments in healthcare contexts increasingly emphasize patient-centred approaches to service quality measures; however, few studies consider this dimension explicitly. The present study develops and psychometrically validates a scale of healthcare service quality explicitly incorporating a patient-centred care dimension from a communicational perspective. The paper also enriches the traditional content of service quality by including equity items and presents the underlying structure of service quality in an emerging country. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The final sample consisted of 869 healthcare users (complete cases in the service quality items derived from 917 surveys received) from Colombia. The authors used a psychometric analytics framework comprising seven processes incorporating exploratory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and machine learning methods to examine construct plausibility, reliability, construct validity, equity, and criterion/predictive validity (e.g. explaining/predicting subjective well-being and behavioural intentions). FINDINGS: The final scale consists of 17 items and satisfies all psychometric properties. Its validation allows for the discovery and psychometrical confirmation of two essential dimensions: patient-centred communication (eight items) and process quality (nine items). PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The authors illustrate three practical uses of the scale: the possibility for diagnoses; hypothesis contrast based on confidence intervals; and estimation of the capacity of the service to satisfy specifications. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Both dimensions reveal users' relevant needs and complement previous studies that have focused on process aspects of healthcare service quality.