Patient Loyalty in the Healthcare Sector: Diagnosing the Guiding Factors. An applied study on a sample of dental clinic visitors in Misan.

Abstract

This research aims to identify the main factors influencing patient loyalty in dental clinics by studying the relationship, both theoretically and practically, between several selected independent variables (quality of medical service, price or cost of medical service, reputation of the clinic, use of modern technology, and the relationship between medical staff and patients) and the dependent variable, patient loyalty. Providing good medical service alone is no longer sufficient to ensure a patient's return or referral to another clinic. The importance of this research lies in the fact that patient loyalty directly impacts the evaluation of the efficiency of healthcare institutions and their services, the achievement of sustainable profits, the enhancement of a positive reputation, the improvement of the public image of medical clinics, and the attainment of a sustainable competitive advantage for these institutions.

Data was collected from questionnaires distributed to a sample of 90 patients and visitors of dental clinics in Maysan Governorate. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25, and the research hypotheses were tested. The research concluded that all selected factors influence patient loyalty to varying degrees. The reputation of the medical clinic, the use of modern technology, and the quality of medical services had the most significant and statistically significant impacts. This was followed by the pricing of medical services and the relationship between medical staff and patients, although their impact was not statistically significant.

Based on the research findings, a set of recommendations was developed. The most important recommendation is that hospital and dental clinic administrators develop policies that improve patient loyalty, thereby increasing trust in private healthcare institutions. Furthermore, attention should be paid to as many factors as possible that influence patient loyalty in medical clinics, in order to enhance patient loyalty and achieve both material and moral benefits for the clinics.