The impact of the financial crisis and austerity policies on the service quality of public hospitals in Greece |
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| Institution: | 1. Center for Planning and Economic Research, 11 Amerikis Str., 10672 Athens, Greece;2. Department of Economics, University of Macedonia, 156 Egnatia Str., 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece;1. Department of Health Policy & Management, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, 212 Adriance Lab Rd, College Station, TX, 77843, USA;2. Population Informatics Lab, Texas A&M University, 212 Adriance Lab Rd, College Station, TX, 77843, USA;3. Laboratory of Health Economics & Management, Economics Department, University of Piraeus, 75 Mikras Asias Str., 11527 Goudi (2nd Floor), Athens, Piraeus, Greece;4. Department of Health & Kinesiology, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, 212 Adriance Lab Rd, College Station, TX, 77843, USA;5. Department of Social and Educational Policy, University of Peloponnese, Damaskinou & Kolokotroni Str., 20100, Corinth, Greece;1. Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 24923, SAFAT 13110, Kuwait;2. National Lead for Clinical Skills and Simulation, NHS Education for Scotland and University of Dundee Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, Scotland, UK;1. CESPYD, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain;2. ISPUP-EPIUnit, Universidade do Porto, Portugal;3. Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology – University Institute of Lisbon, Portugal;1. Ministry of Health, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain;2. Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain;3. Mar University School of Nursing, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain;4. School of Community Health and Midwifery, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK;5. School of Nursing, Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain;6. Faculty of Medicine, Alcalá University, Madrid, Spain;7. Hospital Sant Joan de Reus, Tarragona, Spain;8. Hospital Comarcal d’Amposta, Tarragona, Spain;9. PhD Programme in Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain;10. Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain |
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| Abstract: | The influence of the financial crisis on the efficiency of Greek public hospitals has been widely debated. Despite this increasing interest in such research, the question of to what extent the recent reforms in the Greek National health care system were effective in establishing a health care structure and process that provide better results for patients has yet to be fully investigated. As a step in this direction, the paper focuses on patient's experience with public hospital care quality before and during the economic crisis. A questionnaire survey was carried out among 1872 patients discharged from 110 out of the total of 124 Greek public hospitals. Patients' perceptions were analysed using a structural equation modelling approach. The findings reveal that public hospital service quality is at a medium level (66.2 on a scale from 1 to 100) over 2007–2014, presenting a decreasing trend during the recession. Policies to address the crisis may have contributed to a reduction in hospital expenditures, but at the same time patients were increasingly dissatisfied with the technical care. Consequently, there is a need for reforms aimed at the achievement of productivity gains, responsibility, and transparency in the management of productive resources, by enabling health organisations to reduce their costs without a deterioration in the quality of care. |
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| Keywords: | Perceived service quality Public hospitals Partial least square path modelling Economic crisis Greece |
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