Comparison of Service Quality between Private and Public Hospitals: Empirical Evidences from Varanasi District in up

The Healthcare sector of a country calls for special attention from the government as the quality of healthcare offers hope and relief to the patients and their dependents. It also facilitates a healthy human capital that contributes in the development of the country. Currently quality has become the primary attraction for the customers while availing any services or buying a product and it is also a strategic advantage for the organizations to gain success and remain competitive in the market. The first and foremost task of private or public hospitals is to supply quality of services to their patients and also to increase the quality of care of services which is found to be critical. The objective of this study is to compare the quality of healthcare services delivered by the public and private hospitals to gain patient satisfaction in Varanasi district. For this purpose the modified ‘SERVQUAL’ instrument was used to measure the patient's perception about service quality delivered by these hospitals. Five service quality dimensions; Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy were used in order to measure the patient's perceptions about the service quality of public and private hospitals in the district of Varanasi. Results showed that private hospitals are supplying enhanced quality of services to their patients as compared to the public hospitals. Hospital managers are in a position to recognize the patients’ perceptions of health care quality and the level of their satisfaction based on the findings of this study. Consequently, managers can design the marketing strategies that develop the quality of services for increasing patients’ satisfaction and inclination to recommend the services of particular healthcare provider to others.