Selecting indicators of acupuncture service quality using analytic hierarchy process

Introduction

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) services, formulating management strategies and policies to improve service quality is essential for maintaining competitive advantages. The purpose of this study is to select key indicators of acupuncture service quality to assist in the development of relevant strategies in order to guide service management in TCM clinics.

Methods

This study uses analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to identify key indicators of acupuncture service quality. A hierarchical architecture comprising four main criteria and twelve sub-criteria was established based on a solid theoretical foundation. Next, the judgements of experts in pairwise comparisons were used to calculate the weight of each criterion and determine the critical criteria for acupuncture service quality. Furthermore, fuzzy AHP was utilized to validate the effectiveness of AHP.

Results

Of all the main criteria, “outcome quality” was the most important, followed by “interaction quality”. Among the twelve sub-criteria, “patient satisfaction” was deemed as the most important, with “expertise” and “waiting time” ranking second and third, respectively. “Interactional justice” and “process quality” were ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

Conclusions

The key findings indicate outcome quality, interaction quality, and the five sub-criteria are key indicators of acupuncture service quality. Therefore, time-saving strategies for operating procedures and human resource policies should be developed to improve acupuncture services.