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Role of Communication, Influence, and Satisfaction in Patient Recommendations of a Physician

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  • Payal Mehra
  • Anubhav Mishra

Abstract

As per the India Brand Equity Foundation, by 2022, India’s healthcare market is expected to reach US$372 billion. While exponential growth in the availability of private hospitals has been recorded in the past few years, many hospitals are not able to attract enough patients due to poor quality of services, unavailability of skilled healthcare workers, and unethical medical practices. These issues were painfully exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients rely on recommendations from friends and relatives to select a physician or hospital. This study undertakes a customer-oriented view of patients to explore patients’ perceptions of physicians’ communication and how it influences the recommendation of a physician. For the study, data are collected from 626 patients spread across three cities of North India. We find that physician communication leads to favourable recommendations, and the patient’s perceived influence and satisfaction play an important role in this process. The physician should display empathy and compassion while communicating to patients, which helps build a favourable perception of the physician. This leads to a higher level of satisfaction with the healthcare provider. Furthermore, the study also examines the effects of socio-demographic variables, such as patient’s income, patient’s gender, and physician’s gender. People with high (vs low) income are more satisfied with physician communication, whereas people with low (vs high) income are more likely to recommend a physician. Interestingly, female patients are more satisfied with a physician’s communication skills than males. Aligned with the patriarchal society, patients show more acceptance of male (vs female) doctors, but in contrast, patients are more likely to recommend a female (vs male) doctor. So, we recommend that healthcare providers ensure that patients get sufficient time to spend with their physicians to discuss problems and not ‘rush’ the patients to improve revenues.

Suggested Citation

  • Payal Mehra & Anubhav Mishra, 2021. "Role of Communication, Influence, and Satisfaction in Patient Recommendations of a Physician," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 46(2), pages 99-111, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:vikjou:v:46:y:2021:i:2:p:99-111
    DOI: 10.1177/02560909211027090
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anubhav Mishra & S M Satish, 2016. "eWOM: Extant Research Review and Future Research Avenues," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 41(3), pages 222-233, September.
    2. Mishra, Anubhav & Maheswarappa, Satish S. & Maity, Moutusy & Samu, Sridhar, 2018. "Adolescent's eWOM intentions: An investigation into the roles of peers, the Internet and gender," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 394-405.
    3. Gurjeet Kaur Sahi & Sanjeewani Sehgal & Rita Sharma, 2017. "Predicting Customers Recommendation from Co-creation of Value, Customization and Relational Value," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 42(1), pages 19-35, March.
    4. Leisen, Birgit & Hyman, Michael R., 2004. "Antecedents and consequences of trust in a service provider: The case of primary care physicians," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(9), pages 990-999, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rajesh Chandwani, 2021. "Stakeholders in the Indian Healthcare Sector," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 46(2), pages 65-70, June.

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