Attractiveness of physical healthcare environments improves patient experience and delivery of care
Abstract
This paper examines how improving the attractiveness of the physical healthcare environment affected patients’ perceptions of staff behaviours and their interactions with staff members, as well as their perceptions of quality of care. A patient survey was conducted in an outpatient facility that was old and unattractive, while another survey was conducted after renovation to improve the attractiveness of the physical healthcare environments. The primary data collection methods used were patient satisfaction survey, a staff retrospective work environment survey and short focused interviews with both patients and staff members. Results showed that staff members noticed some positive changes in their work environment, which could affect how they interacted with patients. The results also showed an increase in the willingness of patients to recommend the facility to others, which signifies increased patient loyalty. The findings of this study support previous research studies that emphasise the importance of the role of healthcare facility design and the attractiveness of physical healthcare environments in influencing patient perceptions of quality of care and satisfaction.
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Author's Biography
Seang Teak Tan is the Head, Healthcare Sector, for Heliconia Capital Management Pte Ltd., Singapore. Before he moved to Heliconia, Seang Teak worked as the Group Chief Operating Officer of Hoan My Medical Corporation, Vietnam. He was responsible for the centralisation and standardisation initiatives of the group, including strategic direction for growth and new services. He was directly responsible for driving the expansion of existing hospitals, development of green- and brownfield projects and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) due diligence. He has almost three decades of experience in healthcare administration and development planning in various countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Hong Kong. He currently also serves as the Chairman of Hanh Phuc International Hospital in Vietnam. Seang Teak holds an MBA from the National University of Malaysia and a master of science and a bachelor of science (Hons) from the same university. He is also a regular speaker at international healthcare conferences.
Hien My Nguyen worked for Hoan My Healthcare Corporate as Senior Customer Service Manager. Her responsibilities included the setting up of a customer service system and facilitating patient satisfaction projects for over 15 hospitals and clinics, including the patient satisfaction index, patient priority index measurement, service recovery projects and continuous service training for medical and front-line staff. Her projects enabled the Board of Hospital Management to prioritise their resources and design established operating systems to improve important patient service areas. My Nguyen has worked for several years in ISO 9000 quality system management profession as a consultant in Bureau Veritas Certification. In the hospitality industry, she worked as a training manager at InterContinental Hotel Groups and has also been a visiting lecturer in Hospitality Management, School of Business, International University, Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM). She did her bachelor of science and master of corporate management at Monash University, Melbourne.
Citation
Tan, Seang Teak and Nguyen, Hien My (2019, September 1). Attractiveness of physical healthcare environments improves patient experience and delivery of care. In the Management in Healthcare: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, Volume 4, Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.69554/FXQQ8362.
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