Re-Engaging in Trust: The Missing Ingredient to Fixing Healthcare

The U.S. healthcare system exists in a trust crisis. Without trust, the United States Healthcare system is doomed to mediocrity. Although healthcare is the most personal of interactions, the U.S. healthcare system is grounded in a business model based on a win-lose paradigm. Unfortunately, recent events both in society at large and within the healthcare industry have created negative trust resets(TM) that has only magnified the problem. Healthcare is unique in that it personally impacts every individual in the United States; whether being employed in the industry, an influencer such as media or government or a utilizer of healthcare services. If we are to address the challenges of access, cost and quality of healthcare we have to do more than alter payment and organizational models. We have to address the elephant in the room; trust. It will require a conscious behavior change by each stakeholder to improve trust across the system.