Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Opinion & Editorial
March 09, 2019 01:00 AM

Commentary: Erosion of trust threatens essential element of practicing medicine

Daniel Wolfson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Daniel Wolfson is executive vice president and chief operating officer of the ABIM Foundation.

    Trust is increasingly hard to come by. Whether it’s the daily accusations of “fake news” that threaten our politics, declining faith in fairness under the law, or an increased prevalence of miracle cures that have no basis in scientific fact, Americans no longer easily accept what previously revered authority figures are offering.

    With divisiveness and mistrust so widespread, there is little doubt that the practice of medicine is not immune. A recent Google search for “popular fake medical news” delivered a staggering 240 million results. In 2018, only 34% of the general public told Gallup that they had a positive view of the healthcare industry, compared with 1975, when 80% of the public had confidence in the medical system. 

    We also know from 2017 peer-reviewed research that patients who have more trust in their healthcare professionals are more satisfied with their treatment, have fewer symptoms and pursue healthier behaviors. Trusting patient-physician relationships and esprit de corps among physicians are threatened by the decline in trust, and if this trend intensifies, the consequences for healthcare could be dire. Among those, burnout, which already plagues 78% of physicians, according to a 2018 Physicians Foundation survey, could become an even greater concern. For patients, the trust deficit invites lower rates of treatment compliance leading to potentially dangerous impacts on health.

    That’s why the ABIM Foundation has been thinking so deeply about trust in healthcare and how to nurture it. We believe this will ultimately help us advance medical professionalism to improve healthcare.

    Research has underscored the importance of trust in achieving optimal healthcare outcomes and the effective delivery of services. A 2017 study found that breast cancer patients with the most distrust of the healthcare system were 22% more likely to report not getting at least one post-surgical treatment than patients with the least distrust.

    We have learned in our exploration of trust that there are multiple drivers of low trust in healthcare, from the growth of competing and contradictory sources of information to conflicts of interest and lack of disclosure. We all know the importance of trust in relationships, but what are the specific practices or actions that ensure it?

    In January, the ABIM Foundation launched a Trust Practice Challenge, an initiative to identify and promote existing practices that foster trust in healthcare. With this effort, we are seeking to be intentional about how healthcare organizations, clinical practices, and all other relationships within healthcare build trust. There is real power in treating trust as a core operating principle in the industry. We have learned from Choosing Wisely and other previous initiatives about the benefit of building trusting and respectful relationships with partners—the many stakeholders touching healthcare that can be part of the solution. 

    We want to expand on promising concepts that emerge from the Trust Practice Challenge by developing strategies to nurture trust, whether through combating misinformation in healthcare, strengthening ties with underserved communities, or improving communication skills for better teamwork in clinical practice.

    Others can join us in pursuing greater trust in healthcare by simply making trust a topic of conversation within your settings. While there is much we still need to understand about how to advance trust, taking time to reflect on how well your institution fares on trustworthiness is a necessary starting point. Other steps such as embedding trust-building in medical education and resident training could also have an impact.

    In addition, become familiar with the components of trust and what makes for strong relationships. There are varied definitions of trust, but they frequently reflect a consistent set of attributes, such as competency, integrity, transparency, compassion, reliability, confidentiality and vulnerability.

    The healthcare industry is far from alone in its battle against declining trust. But what’s at risk for medicine is the erosion of the patient-physician relationship and heightened tensions between clinicians and health systems or within clinical teams, which represent perennial threats to physician well-being.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Dennis Matheis
    Sentara Healthcare names Dennis Matheis next top executive
    supreme-court-healthcare-ok_WEB_i.jpg
    Healthcare groups react to Supreme Court abortion ruling
    Sponsored Content
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
      • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing