The mediating effect of patient satisfaction in the relationship between service quality and revisiting intentions: the case of two public emergency departments (EDs).

Patient satisfaction has been highlighted as an important indicator of healthcare delivery quality and a direct predictor of patient revisiting intentions. The present study aims to provide insight concerning the interaction between service quality, patient satisfaction and revisiting intentions, in the setting of hospital Emergency Departments (EDs). More specifically it (a) compares two public EDs, one urban and one rural; (b) identifies the quality dimensions that are perceived as valuable from patients and highlights their relative importance, (c) investigates the reasons behind poor service quality. A newly-developed conceptual framework is proposed and empirically tested, using primary data collected from 169 ED patients of two different hospitals. Empirical results provide valuable insight into the relationship between perceived service quality and patient revisiting intentions, by examining the mediating effects of patient satisfaction.