Determining the Factors Affecting Patients' Orthopedic Clinic Preferences Through AHP Method

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of the study is to determine which orthopedic clinics of three different hospitals are operating in Kütahya preferred by the patients and which criteria they prioritize in this preference. Design/methodology/approach – In the study, three alternatives (A Hospital Orthopedics Clinic, B Hospital Orthopedics Clinic and C Hospital Orthopedics Clinic) and four criteria (Doctors, Therapeutic Consumables Materials, Service Quality and Ease of Transportation-Communication) were used. In the first stage of the study, verbal evaluations of decision makers (service buyers) were taken for both criteria and comparison of alternatives according to criteria. As a methodology, it was used the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, which is one of the multi-criteria decision-making techniques and developed by Thomas L. Saaty (1988). AHP method offers the opportunity to choose between more than two criteria by making comparisons. Findings – At the end of the study, it was determined that “Doctors” criterias' had the highest importance in choosing the orthopedic clinic of a hospital. In addition, it was understood that among the three alternatives, the orthopedic clinic of hospital A had the highest level of importance, and alternative A received higher scores in terms of "Therapeutic Consumables Materials" and "Ease of Transportation-Communication" criteria it compared to the other two alternatives. Discussion – According to the findings, while individuals prefer the orthopedic clinic of a hospital, they act by looking at the experience of the doctor working in that hospital. The quality of the consumables used while providing health care, and the quality of the service provided to the patient from the time of admission to discharge are also important factors in the preference of this clinic. It has been observed that the fourth criterion, the ease of transportation/communication, is low. This shows that the quality of the service provided is more important than the location of the health service needed, that individuals prefer a good health service provider even if the location of the health service is far away, and they bear the cost of distance.