Effect of inpatient experiences on patient satisfaction and the willingness to recommend a hospital: The mediating role of patient satisfaction: A cross‐sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: As high‐quality health care encompasses patient‐centered care, this study used the perceived quality−satisfaction−behavioral intention and structure‐process‐outcome models to (1) investigate the relationships among patient experience, patient satisfaction, and the willingness to recommend a hospital and (2) estimate the indirect effects of patient satisfaction on the relationship between patient experience and the willingness to recommend a hospital. METHODS: A cross‐sectional survey design was adopted to investigate data obtained from the Seoul National University Hospital Patient Experience survey administered in 2020. Responses were analyzed from 1555 patients, who had been admitted to the inpatient ward of a tertiary hospital for a period lasting more than 1 day. RESULTS: The path model demonstrated a good fit to the relationships between patient experience, patient satisfaction, and the willingness to recommend the hospital. Patient experience directly influenced patient satisfaction (β = 0.659, p < 0.001) and the willingness to recommend the hospital (β = 0.168, p < 0.001), whereas patient satisfaction had an indirect effect (β = 0.418, p < 0.001) on the relationship between patient experience and the willingness to recommend the hospital. CONCLUSION: Patient experience is a critical factor that health care systems need to consider for enhancing patient‐centeredness, patient satisfaction, and the willingness to recommend a hospital.