Radio Advisory 277: Patient distrust is costing you. Here’s how to rebuild it.
Nov 25, 2025
Matt Cornner, Advisory Board strategy and operations expert, and Morghen Philippi, Advisory Board specialist in patient trust and experience, tackle rising patient distrust. They trace how societal trends and misinformation fueled distrust. They explain how distrust harms care quality, workforce stability, and finances. They outline trust’s core elements and practical leadership steps to rebuild relationships.
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Distrust Has Rapidly Increased
- Patient distrust rose eight percentage points between 2023 and 2025, leaving nearly one in six patients who don't trust their doctor at all.
- Morghen Philippi warns this distrust impacts clinical quality, workforce stability, public health, and finances.
Patients See Healthcare As One Journey
- Patients view healthcare as a single end-to-end experience rather than discrete parts like hospital versus doctor.
- Morghen Philippi says distrust accumulates across appointment access, front-line staff, clinical encounter, and discharge.
Systemic Inequities Feed Distrust
- Longstanding inequities and group-specific neglect predate COVID but recent events amplified national distrust.
- Matt Cornner notes pandemic policies and unequal impacts widened feelings that the system doesn't care for the whole person.