Encontros de serviço e satisfação de clientes em hospitais

A pesquisa realizada versa sobre os encontros de serviço e a satisfação de clientes em hospitais. O estudo é de natureza exploratória e teve por objetivo identificar os encontros de serviço que ocorrem no hospital e os atributos de satisfação a eles relacionados. Os dados foram coletados com profissionais e clientes de hospitais, no ano de 2003, por meio de entrevistas utilizando a técnica do incidente crítico. A análise de conteúdo evidenciou os atributos de satisfação dos encontros de serviço que compõem os processos de admissão, internação e alta. Os resultados fornecem importantes informações para ao gestor de serviços hospitalares, permitindo o delineamento de ações com foco no cliente

Hospital outpatient perceptions of the physical environment of waiting areas: the role of patient characteristics on atmospherics in one academic medical center

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study examines hospital outpatient perceptions of the physical environment of the outpatient waiting areas in one medical center. The relationship of patient characteristics and their perceptions and needs for the outpatient waiting areas are also examined.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>The examined medical center consists of five main buildings which house seventeen primary waiting areas for the outpatient clinics of nine medical specialties: 1) Internal Medicine; 2) Surgery; 3) Ophthalmology; 4) Obstetrics-Gynecology and Pediatrics; 5) Chinese Medicine; 6) Otolaryngology; 7) Orthopedics; 8) Family Medicine; and 9) Dermatology. A 15-item structured questionnaire was developed to rate patient satisfaction covering the four dimensions of the physical environments of the outpatient waiting areas: 1) visual environment; 2) hearing environment; 3) body contact environment; and 4) cleanliness. The survey was conducted between November 28, 2005 and December 8, 2005. A total of 680 outpatients responded. Descriptive, univariate, and multiple regression analyses were applied in this study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All of the 15 items were ranked as relatively high with a range from 3.362 to 4.010, with a neutral score of 3. Using a principal component analysis' summated scores of four constructed dimensions of patient satisfaction with the physical environments (i.e. visual environment, hearing environment, body contact environment, and cleanliness), multiple regression analyses revealed that patient satisfaction with the physical environment of outpatient waiting areas was associated with gender, age, visiting frequency, and visiting time.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patients' socio-demographics and context backgrounds demonstrated to have effects on their satisfaction with the physical environment of outpatient waiting areas. In addition to noticing the overall rankings for less satisfactory items, what should receive further attention is the consideration of the patients' personal characteristics when redesigning more comfortable and customized physical environments of waiting areas.</p

Exploring the key drivers behind the adoption of mobile banking services

This research examines the main drivers behind the adoption of mobile banking, a concept that has revolutionized the day-to-day activities of humans. A review of relevant literature on the topic, leads us toward testing the following key hypotheses: consumers are adopting mobile banking due to the perceived usefulness and benefits associated with the concept; and consumers are adopting mobile banking due to technological advances meaning increased access to the mobile phone devices. We published an online questionnaire on Amazon Mechanical Turk to obtain responses from Internet users. A dominating proportion of participants highlighted how mobile banking is a concept that they adopted between three and 5 years ago, showing just how recently mobile banking took off. The results also showed a number of links between the study’s research hypotheses and the adoption of mobile banking. The overall result of the study shows online banking as a concept that is influenced by a number of both internal and external factors. No single factor plays a dominating force in pushing retail bankers to adopt mobile banking, with it instead being a culmination of numerous different factors. The recent introduction of mobile banking is made seemingly apparent, as is the increasing susceptibility to change in the near future. Subsequently, countless opportunities for further academic research are likely to arise

Service Interaction Flow Analysis Technique for Service Personalization

Abstract Service interaction flows are difficult to capture, analyze, outline, and represent for research and design purposes. We examine how variation of personalized service flows in technology-mediated service interaction can be modeled and analyzed to provide information on how service personalization could support interaction. We have analyzed service interaction cases in a context of technology-mediated car rental service. With the analysis technique we propose, inspired by Interaction Analysis method, we were able to capture and model the situational service interaction. Our contribution regarding technology-mediated service interaction design is twofold: First, with the increased understanding on the role of personalization in managing variation in technology-mediated service interaction, our study contributes to designing service management information systems and human-computer interfaces that support personalized service interaction flows. Second, we provide a new analysis technique for situated interaction analysis, particularly when the aim is to understand personalization in service interaction flows

An assessment of technology-based service encounters & network security on the e-health care systems of medical centers in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Enhancing service efficiency and quality has always been one of the most important factors to heighten competitiveness in the health care service industry. Thus, how to utilize information technology to reduce work load for staff and expeditiously improve work efficiency and healthcare service quality is presently the top priority for every healthcare institution. In this fast changing modern society, e-health care systems are currently the best possible way to achieve enhanced service efficiency and quality under the restraint of healthcare cost control. The electronic medical record system and the online appointment system are the core features in employing e-health care systems in the technology-based service encounters.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study implemented the Service Encounters Evaluation Model, the European Customer Satisfaction Index, the Attribute Model and the Overall Affect Model for model inference. A total of 700 copies of questionnaires from two authoritative southern Taiwan medical centers providing the electronic medical record system and the online appointment system service were distributed, among which 590 valid copies were retrieved with a response rate of 84.3%. We then used SPSS 11.0 and the Linear Structural Relationship Model (LISREL 8.54) to analyze and evaluate the data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The findings are as follows: (1) Technology-based service encounters have a positive impact on service quality, but not patient satisfaction; (2) After experiencing technology-based service encounters, the cognition of the service quality has a positive effect on patient satisfaction; and (3) Network security contributes a positive moderating effect on service quality and patient satisfaction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It revealed that the impact of electronic workflow (online appointment system service) on service quality was greater than electronic facilities (electronic medical record systems) in technology-based service encounters. Convenience and credibility are the most important factors of service quality in technology-based service encounters that patients demand. Due to the openness of networks, patients worry that transaction information could be intercepted; also, the credibility of the hospital involved is even a bigger concern, as patients have a strong sense of distrust. Therefore, in the operation of technology-based service encounters, along with providing network security, it is essential to build an atmosphere of psychological trust.</p

Multi-factor service design: identification and consideration of multiple factors of the service in its design process

Service design is a multidisciplinary area that helps innovate services by bringing new ideas to customers through a design-thinking approach. Services are affected by multiple factors, which should be considered in designing services. In this paper, we propose the multi-factor service design (MFSD) method, which helps consider the multi-factor nature of service in the service design process. The MFSD method has been developed through and used in five service design studies with industry and government. The method addresses the multi-factor nature of service for systematic service design by providing the following guidelines: (1) identify key factors that affect the customer value creation of the service in question (in short, value creation factors), (2) define the design space of the service based on the value creation factors, and (3) design services and represent them based on the factors. We provide real stories and examples from the five service design studies to illustrate the MFSD method and demonstrate its utility. This study will contribute to the design of modern complex services that are affected by varied factors

Natural genetic variation in fluctuating asymmetry of wing shape in Drosophila melanogaster

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), defined as random deviation from perfect symmetry, has been used to assay the inability of individuals to buffer their developmental processes from environmental perturbations (i.e., developmental instability). In this study, we aimed to characterize the natural genetic variation in FA of wing shape in Drosophila melanogaster, collected from across the Japanese archipelago. We quantified wing shapes at whole wing and partial wing component levels and evaluated their mean and FA. We also estimated the heritability of the mean and FA of these traits. We found significant natural genetic variation in all the mean wing traits and in FA of one of the partial wing components. Heritability estimates for mean wing shapes were significant in two and four out of five wing traits in males and females, respectively. On the contrary, heritability estimates for FA were low and not significant. This is a novel study of natural genetic variation in FA of wing shape. Our findings suggest that partial wing components behave as distinct units of selection for FA, and local adaptation of the mechanisms to stabilize developmental processes occur in nature