As measured by interactions with doctors, nurses, and other staff, patient experience is a crucial indicator of quality of care. Hospital leadership is faced with the continued challenge of improving patient experience on a day-to-day basis. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated an industry already riddled with many obstacles that prevented desired patient outcomes. With incentives, reimbursements, and the hospital's reputation tied to these publicly reported scores, the improvement of patient experience is a top priority.

This longitudinal quantitative study, guided by the SERVQUAL theory, investigates the comparative impact of pre-COVID and COVID-19 pandemic periods on patient experiences, overall hospital ratings, and recommendations for hospitals. The practical implications of this study provide healthcare administrators with crucial patient experience indicators to prioritize during disruptions such as pandemics. Awareness of those indicators will facilitate disaster preparedness planning and help to mitigate risks that compromise patient outcomes and experiences. Moreover, this study contributes to the existing literature on patient experience by offering a comprehensive comparison of pre-COVID and COVID-19 periods, elucidating their impacts on hospital ratings and the likelihood of positive patient recommendations.