Beyond Promotion: A Critical Assessment of Healthcare Marketing Communication, healthcare service quality and Its Influence on hospital Outpatient Satisfaction

The study attempts to fill the research gap in innovative healthcare marketing literature by examining the impact of innovative healthcare marketing communication and healthcare services quality on hospital outpatient satisfaction. A total of 317 hospital outpatients were selected from 15 modern care hospitals. A self-developed questionnaire was adopted to elicit quantitative data from hospital outpatients. The three sub-variables of innovative healthcare marketing communication showed that -value creation (β = 0.397, t=8.268, p<0.05) and telemedicine (β = 0.479, t=7.746, p<0.05) significantly predicted outpatient satisfaction, and prescription management (β = 0.108, t=1.411, p>0.05 at 0.159). Service quality variables showed that reliability (β = 0.374, t=5.882, p<0.05), responsiveness (β = 0.121, t=2.295, p<0.005), empathy (β = 0.333, t=6.795, p<0.05) and tangibility (β = 0.292, t=3.650, p<0.05) significantly predicted outpatient satisfaction. Assurance (β = -0.132, t=1.664, p>0.05 at 0.97) was insignificant. The study concludes on appropriate users’ trust in clinical services such as accurate diagnosis, availability of medical personnel, reliable mobile network service, measurable risk and service assurance.