MSDP (MARKET SURVEY FOR DENTAL PRACTICE): FACTORS AFFECTING PATIENT’S PERCEPTION FOR DENTAL TREATMENT SERVICES

Abstract

Background -  Healthcare industry in the recent times  has been implementing efficient marketing strategies to generate revenue. There exists a large marketplace for this , however there's lack of literature which will facilitate the dentist to cater patients and grow their practice. Marketing strategies helps to demographically analyze the  prospective consumers, their concerns and acceptable methods like quality services, infrastructure, communication skills etc.

Methodology -   A total of thirty questions were framed for the dental patients and response was measured on the seven -point Likert’s scale. Attributes based on extensive literature review included quality of treatment, confidence in dentist, knowledge and skill of the dentist, accessibility of the services, duration of treatment, pricing of the treatment, communication skills of the dentist  etc.

Result - A total sample comprised of three hundred patient’s. In the present study the reliability of the tool was measured using Cronbach’s alpha . The Cronbach’s alpha value for the questionnaire was .868 which is considered to be a good value for internal consistency. Content validity refers to the degree of relevance for the research tool used for evaluation.  The values for the questionnaire was S-CVI = 30.236 which was in the acceptable range.

Conclusion - The dental health care  services have evolved  and has established its role from curative to preventive therapy . The market is wide and open although it need more detailed exploration to understand the consumer and MSDP can be an effective tool for the same.