A Comparative Multicultural Study of Patient Satisfaction in the European Union

Abstract

Patient satisfaction is increasingly regarded as an important element in healthcare systems management and reforms. It has become even more important in the context of increasing competition because of the rapidly developing private clinics, an increasingly ageing population, complex healthcare system reforms and increased public scrutiny. This has led to a series of studies, reports and surveys being conducted all over Europe in an attempt to identify and rank those factors affecting satisfaction and identify strategies for the development and improvement of European healthcare systems. However, very few of the studies considered the impact cultural elements have on patients` answers, rankings and evaluations of their satisfaction and healthcare systems. The article takes on this challenge and aims to identify and discuss the impact cultural elements have on perceived patient satisfaction with the goal of suggesting marketing and business development solutions and further research ideas. The research was conducted through secondary data analysis based on a set of several studies dealing with patient satisfaction with healthcare. Data has then been discussed considering the cultural dimension of the European Union (EU) countries selected for this analysis. Results show that satisfaction levels vary among EU countries and are influenced by the different cultural dimensions. It is our belief that healthcare system reforms and evaluations should be market oriented and should closely consider cultural particularities, while at the same time remaining committed to delivering high quality medical services across the EU, thus reducing disparities between healthcare systems and how they are perceived in different Member States.