Identification of key factors influencing patient satisfaction for practical prioritization in healthcare settings: a nationwide survey analysis.

Background: Understanding the factors influencing patient satisfaction is essential for improving healthcare services. However, the diverse elements affecting patient satisfaction at medical institutions make it impractical and inefficient to enhance all factors simultaneously. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors influencing patient satisfaction based on the Patient Experience Survey and to identify key predictors ranked by importance for efficient application in clinical and hospital settings.

Methods: A total of 69 562 survey responses were obtained from the Korean Medical Service Experience Survey conducted between 2019 and 2023. Patients satisfying the following specific conditions were extracted and categorized based on the type of medical institution (clinic or hospital) and care modality (outpatient or inpatient): outpatients visiting a clinic (N = 26 349), outpatients visiting a hospital (N = 9861), and inpatients admitted to a hospital (N = 1617). For each category, factors influencing the patients' overall satisfaction with their medical experience and their intention to recommend the hospital or clinic were analyzed. To assess the magnitude and importance of these factors, Spearman's rank correlation analysis and a regression tree model were used. The study also compared whether key predictive factors of patient satisfaction differed by medical institution type (clinic vs. hospital) and care modality (outpatient vs. inpatient), as well as by the specific patient satisfaction outcome measure (overall satisfaction vs. intention to recommend).

Results: The analysis revealed that patient satisfaction was determined by different factors depending on the outcome measure. For overall satisfaction, the most significant predictor was satisfaction with treatment outcomes, while for intention to recommend, the most influential factor was the convenience of the medical facility. These findings were consistent across medical institution types (clinic or hospital) and care modalities (outpatient or inpatient). The attitude of healthcare providers (doctors or nurses) also emerged as a key predictor of patient satisfaction, though its importance varied depending on the type of medical institution and care modality.

Conclusion: Satisfaction with treatment outcomes and convenience of the medical facility were the most important predictor of overall satisfaction and intention to recommend, respectively. These findings reinforce that prioritizing the clinical effectiveness of care-rather than focusing solely on service-related features-is essential for achieving high patient satisfaction. Because of utilizing a large-scale dataset and identifying predictors ranked by importance, this study is expected to contribute effectively to decision-making processes regarding the future development and improvement of healthcare institutions.