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In health services, how to establish good relationships with patients and enhance patient loyalty has been crucial for service managers. We explore the impact that patients' perceptions of market orientation direct effect on patient loyalty to a hospital as well as indirect effect via the mediation of relationship quality. Self-administered questionnaires were employed to collect data from outpatients. 450 questionnaires were valid. Results showed that market orientation had a direct positive impact on patient loyalty to the hospital and an indirect positive impact via the mediation of relationship quality and patient loyalty to a physician. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which analyzed the network type exchange in the health care system in Taiwan as of June 2012. Also cited are the significant changes in the country's health care environment and system since the implementation of the National Health Insurance in 1995, as well as the problems that emerged including the distortion of medical ecology, drug price difference, and the deterioration of medical quality.