A quantitative model for patient behavioral decisions in the urgent care industry

Patient perceptions of health care quality are critical to a health care service provider's long‐term success because of the significant influence that perceptions have on the outcome of the healthcare process and on patient behavioral decisions. It is a critical strategy for health care organizations to provide quality service and to address patient satisfaction. The urgent care industry is an integral part of the health care system in the United States that has been experiencing rapid growth. Urgent care (UC) provides a wide range of medical services for a large group of patients and now serves an increasing population. UC is becoming popular because they offer convenient locations, extended hours, a walk‐in format, short waiting times, and accessibility. A closer examination of current health care research indicates that there is a paucity of research on UC providers. Confronted with the emergence of the urgent care industry and the increasing demand for UC, it is necessary to understand how patients perceive UC providers and what influences patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions. This study addresses three areas relevant to UC patient satisfaction and behavioral intention: (i) development of an instrument to measure perceived service quality in the urgent care industry; (ii) identification of the determinants of patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions, and (iii) empirical examination of the relationships among perceived service quality, patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions.