According to the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore survey conducted by the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES), the healthcare sector registered a 2-per-cent decline in national customer satisfaction last year. Scores in all five measured sub-sectors – general practitioners, polyclinics, private hospitals, restructured hospitals and specialised healthcare – decreased. ISES noted that a fall in customers’ perception of value was observed in all five sub-sectors. SMU Assistant Professor of Marketing and ISES Academic Director Marcus Lee said: “This data suggests that healthcare consumers are, compared to last year, becoming more price-conscious in the face of rising healthcare cost.” To keep customer satisfaction levels up, Assistant Prof Lee said that healthcare providers should ensure that any fee increase matches up with customer perceptions of overall quality.