Experience of Insured Patients with Cashless Treatment Facilities

Abstract

Background: Health insurance has become a key tool of financial security against escalating healthcare expenses, especially with cashless treatment centres that do away with initial payments on insured patients. Although it has its benefits, the experiences of patients who undergo cashless treatment are still affected by various factors, such as the insurance procedures, quality of the hospital services, and the financial aspects, and it is essential to investigate the determinants of the issue holistically.

Aim: The study aims to examine the impact of insurance system processes on insured patients’ experience with cashless treatment facilities, analyse the relationship between hospital service factors and patient satisfaction, and assess the influence of cost on trust perception.

Methodology: The research design to be used in the study is a descriptive and analytical study with primary data being collected through insured patients who received cashless treatment in the selected hospitals. A structured questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale was used to collect data. To examine the relationship between variables, SPSS was used to test the relationships between variables using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression and ANOVA.

Results: The results indicate that patient experience is considerably positively affected by insurance system processes and accounts for 52.9% of the variation. Reasonable waiting time, helpful staff, and a prompt discharge are all the factors that have a significant impact on satisfaction, and the rest of the factors are negligible in hospitals. The research also concludes that the cost factor does not have a significant influence on the perception of trust, and there are no significant differences in experience between groups.

Conclusion: The study finds that operational efficiency of insurance processes and service delivery is a critical factor in improving patient experience and satisfaction in cashless treatment systems, and cost has a lesser impact on trust. There is the need to enhance collaboration between healthcare providers and insurers to enhance patient outcomes.