Antecedents and consequences of patient...

Due to an increased usage of online physician rating websites, physicians are well-advised to know about the functional chain of patient retention, i.e. what drives patient loyalty and WoM referrals. Patient satisfaction, in general, has been a well-researched topic, but little is known about this specific functional chain for primary care physicians (PCP). The authors investigate the influence of different antecedents and consequences of patient satisfaction with the PCP by conducting an online survey with a sample of 421 respondents. The results derived from SEM show that waiting times and the quality of the patient-physician interaction reveal a strong impact on exclusively each of the two dimensions of patient satisfaction. The physician-related dimension of patient satisfaction as well as patient loyalty and patient trust towards the PCP have a significant direct impact on WOM intention. The findings have implications for theory and practice.