Americans’ distrust of health care was perhaps the biggest issue plaguing leaders and healthcare professionals at Fortune’s Brainstorm Health conference this week.
Like polluted air or polluted water, a lack of trust in health care hurts everyone, Dr. Celine Gunder, senior fellow and editor at large at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told Fortune’s Maria Aspan on a panel hosted by CVS Health. Gunder spoke alongside panelists Dr. Sri Chagutoro, executive vice president and chief medical officer of CVS Health, and Dr. Jack Resnick, president of the American Medical Association.
Gunder experienced the “war on science” firsthand when her husband, soccer journalist Grant Wahl, died suddenly and unexpectedly at the World Cup in Qatar.
“I knew the moment I received the news from a friend in Qatar that his death was going to turn into an engine of vaccine disinformation,” Gunder said. I needed to address misinformation about his death; Unfortunately, we live in a world where everything you do can be misrepresented for this purpose.”
Gunder, Chagoturu, and Resnick examine the causes and consequences of declining trust in health care—and what we can do to make things better.
“incredibly disturbing”
Deregulation of cable news and the rollback of the FCC’s Doctrine of Fairness, which requires news anchors to present different perspectives of controversial issues, made communication about science more difficult, Gunder said.
Thanks to the popularity of social media, the American Medical Association has seen an exponential increase in politicized health issues over the past five years, Resnick said.
However, he said the medical industry should be held responsible for the errors that contributed to this, adding that more people are willing to believe misinformation due to factors such as very high medical bills, health care inequities, and trauma and trauma caused by COVID-19.
Declining confidence in American health care is putting a heavy burden on the industry at the worst possible time.
“While we’re seeing alarming burnout levels among clinicians, putting this on top of it is deeply concerning,” said Resnick.
As a result, we are less prepared to handle the next pandemic than we were in 2020, leaders including Chelsea Clinton told Fortune at the conference.
Restoration of confidence
According to Chagutoro, healthcare workers hold the keys to restoring confidence.
“People still trust their doctors. Doctors, nurses and pharmacists lead professions with the highest level of trust,” he said. “One of the most important ways to combat misinformation is to advocate for doctors who see patients and provide their services.”
CVS Health supports pharmacists with training at the local and regional level. It also works to expand resources and care for underprivileged communities.
Gunder said the health care industry needs to deliver patient outcomes in order to restore confidence.
“Trust begins with offering something reliable and credible,” she said. “You can’t just do a trust-building marketing campaign.”
Listening to patients is key to rebuilding relationships, Resnick said.
“Open communication makes a huge difference…continuously measures patient satisfaction, how you involve patients in the development of your products,” he said.