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- Linzer.pdf -
Supplemental tables 1-4
- Linzer.pdf -
In Brief
Where Trust Flourishes: Perceptions of Clinicians Who Trust Their Organizations and Are Trusted by Their Patients
Mark Linzer and colleagues
Background Researchers sought to determine the characteristics of health organizations that promoted clinician trust. They further hypothesized that clinician trust may be correlated with patients’ trust in their clinician.
What This Study Found Trust in the medical profession has dropped from a high of 75% in a 1966 survey to a low of 33% in 2018. “High clinician-high patient” trust occurred when clinicians perceived their organizational culture as having: 1) an emphasis on quality; 2) an emphasis on communication and information; 3) cohesiveness among clinicians; and 4) values aligned between clinicians and their leaders.
Implications
- The researchers concluded that addressing organizational culture may improve trust at the organizational and patient levels. Lack of trust in the medical profession has implications for patient care since research from past epidemics has shown that lack of trust decreases the likelihood of patients adhering to public health recommendations. Linzer et al write that it is critical to identify factors that will assist health systems to better understand how to create the most trust within their work environments.