The Effect of Medical Staff's Attitude on the Treatment Satisfaction of Outpatients: The Moderating Effect of Medical Staff's Courtesy

의료진의 태도가 외래환자의 치료 만족도에 미치는 영향: 의료진 예의의 조절효과

Purposes: The purpose of this study was to empirically analyze the effect of the attitude of medical staff providing medical services on the treatment satisfaction of the patients who experienced outpatient care at the hospitals and clinics. In particular, it was verified whether the courtesy of the medical staff to the outpatients has moderated the effect of the medical staff's explanation on the treatment satisfaction. Methodology: After controlling the socio-demographic factors of the outpatients with their treatment and waiting time, multiple regression analyses were conducted to figure out the effect of the attitude of the medical staff on the treatment satisfaction. And the covariance analyses were adopted to verify the moderating effect of the variables of the medical staff. Findings: At both hospitals and clinics, all attitudes of medical staff such as the way they explain to and communicate with the patients, and their courtesy showed positive effects on treatment satisfaction. Among them, the courtesy of the medical staff was the most influential variable on the satisfaction of the treatment, and it only had the control power over the effect of the way they explain on the treatment satisfaction. Practical Implication: Among the medical staff's attitudes toward patients at hospital or clinic level, the courtesy of doctors and nurses is an important factor in improving treatment satisfaction. In particular, if the level of their courtesy is low among the medical services rendered at the clinics, the satisfaction level will decrease even if the level of explanation of the medical staff is high. Therefore, in terms of hospital management, treatment satisfaction can be improved when doctors and nurses provide medical services to visitors with polite, humble and friendly manner in explaining to and communicating with the patients.