The Trust Crisis in Healthcare: Causes, Consequences, and Cures
David A. Shore edited the book entitled “The Trust Crisis in Healthcare: Causes, Consequences and Cures” to explain how vital trust is in the healthcare industry. In this fast changing world, trust is vital in the patient-physician relationship. The outcome of every operation depends on how physicians handle their patients. This is the fundamental requirement that may lead to ominous results because of increased costs and inefficient service. However it is also important to put one’s trust in the hands of the attending doctor because you have to face the consequences that it is the physician who knows what the best cure is for the patient. When medical practice is then committed, then this is the right time to take the necessary legal actions and put physicians who demonstrated negligence of duty in jail.
Shore edited the book in a very cautious manner that explains everything in detail. Readers will be amazed of what they will read because they will gain much information that they will carry out not only as a healthcare practitioner but as a regular human being as well. It explains carefully how healthcare system is worsening due to suspicion from people. Mutual trust is important for every health case to succeed. The weakness of the book is revealing the issues pertaining to how patients loose their trust on physicians. But majority of the book displays powerful ideas on how to restore trust in the healthcare system.
Realizations from professionals comes out after reading this book since it exposes how market mechanisms among patients, providers and payers view one another without trust. Trust cannot be easily imposed or assumed because it is earned. Continuous declination of trust in the industry will result to more crises in the years to come. Good thing the editor of the book carefully gathered facts from health care experts and made a collective idea of how to solve this trust dilemma.
The book contains helpful survey that explains the causes and consequence of mistrust and lack of trust. There are also statements from health care leaders like Robert Blendon, George Lundberg and Lucian Lepe that discusses how the crisis in trust can be cured. The quality of care is given emphasis on the book that made it more interesting to read. The patient centered care is also promoted because satisfaction from them will eventually lead to a more developed trust in the health care industry.
Suggestions and recommendations are also cited in the book to serve as references for health care professionals. The information and medical systems should be monitored and developed time after tie to avoid medical result errors. Old fashioned style of communication between doctors and patients that serves as hindrances for better relationship should also be avoided. New ways of interaction should also be use to improve patient’s satisfaction.
Preparing medical reports is also given emphasis in the book. New standards of communication either interpersonal or media communication should be monitored in order to avoid misleading of information that diminishes patients trust. The book also contains clinical insights pertaining to the use of human as subjects in doing biomedical researches. Further recommendations in revising the curriculums of medical schools were also given in the book. Health plans and strategies were also given consideration in the book to avoid confusions on what method is used during operations and emergencies. It is also mentioned that the crisis in trust has terrible consequences if the aforementioned ideas from the book were not followed.
Human factors play a great role in regaining trust in the health care system. Diverse topics and opinions from the book serves as an eye opener for people who are now doubting in the capacity of health care professionals to render health and medical services. The book is really fascinating and worthy to read since it does not only promote building up of trust but building up of the health care business as well.
References:
Shore, D. (1995). The Trust Crisis in Healthcare: Causes, Consequences, and Cures. USA: Oxford University Press.