As discussed in the 2019 article “A Framework for Increasing Trust Between Patients and the Organizations that Care for Them,” we believe there is deep opportunity for patient engagement in understanding patient hearts and minds. Where does trust begin? What are the aspects of the patient relationship that can be fine-tuned to grow and maintain this trust?

Underlying most of the key approaches to increasing trust is the deep empathetic understanding of core patient value propositions, like how they make choices. The article states that “physician behavior is especially critical: patients’ trust is affected by their perceptions of physician empathy and honesty. Trust correlates most highly with the patient’s assessment of the ways physicians communicate, knowledge of the patient, and interpersonal relationship.”

When physicians and care teams understand how and why their patients make decisions regarding their care and how their patients desire to relate to their provider and care system, the patient experience can be transformed. 

Want to learn more? Discover how to implement the necessary steps for deeper, more meaningful patient engagement.