The (sorry) state of trust

Dr. David Shore, Associate Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health and Executive Director of the Center for Continuing Professional Education, believes the healthcare industry is in a seriously sorry state. Years of inefficiency mean that the system is facing a dire future. Can this change? Not according to Shore: “No, if anything data in recent times show wild variation in practice. However, clinical practice and outcomes just show severe variations that point back to our inconsistency, which is one major trust buster.”

It is not all doom and gloom, Shore explains that there is a model on how to build a trusting relationship with patients. The first part involves WEG, which is absolutely essential according to Shore. WEG stands for warmth, empathy and genuineness, which, he suggests, all trusting relationships should start with as a key foundation to a successful relationship. By building a trusting relationship with a patient the healthcare provider is recognized as a trusted advisor and as such the patient perceives the clinician as having their best interests at heart and is much more likely to be compliant. Brand reputation and trust are important anchors in getting sustained adherence and compliance in healthcare.

“Of course,” says Shore, “healthcare providers are notorious for having a WEG deficiency – you don’t exactly hear many stories about clinicians whose bedside manner won them awards.” However, he goes on to explain that there are legitimate reasons for this deficiency, such as clinicians wanting to remain emotionally detached from patients as it adversely affects their work and personal levels. Also, many clinicians are rushed and therefore short of time to spend with their patients.

Branding

Shore suggests that a trusting relationship between clinician and patient is key to building a successful brand. Over the past four to five years, Shore has been traveling around the US focusing on brand diagnostics by both quantitatively and qualitatively assessing different stake-holder groups. The last question in the trust diagnostic he asks each group is, “What difference, if any, would attitudes, behavior and performance have on this organization?” The unanimous consensus of the hundreds of participants involved in the study is that there is simply nothing that the organization could do that would be more transformative then to become a more trusted provider of healthcare services and products. “It would dramatically impact on quality and performance because when people trust they collaborate, when they don’t trust they don’t collaborate,” suggests Shore. “If people trusted they would be more engaged in the work place and take less time off for example. From a marketplace perspective, a trusted reputation affects brand in a simply glorious fashion.”

Shore believes that when patients have a high regard for a healthcare organization, the reputation of the organization will be strong. “Earning and building trust is an important element in becoming a reputable company,” summarizes Shore, “and the industry needs to realize this or it will be unable to move forward.”