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June 2022 (Volume 100)
Quarterly Article
Andrew Anderson
Derek M. Griffith
A. Anderson and D.M. Griffith. Measuring the Trustworthiness of Health Care Organizations and Systems. Milbank Q. March 15, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12564
Sep 23, 2026
Jun 29, 2026
Jun 12, 2026
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Policy Points:
Across multiple fields of study, trust is defined as “a psychological state that determines a person’s willingness to be vulnerable under conditions of risk/uncertainty, and interdependence.” Trust underlies both intentions as well as behaviors and can cause or result from risk-taking and cooperation. Patients’ level of trust in their provider influences both their care experiences and their health outcomes. Without trust, it is unlikely that patients will reveal the full extent of their medically relevant history, consent to a physical exam, or act on treatment recommendations. Researchers have described a crisis of trust in health systems, and many examples show the negative effects of mistrust (e.g., lower treatment adherence and lower patient satisfaction). Yet there has been remarkably little work done to understand how to build trust in health systems, and interventions that have attempted to do so have been largely unsuccessful.
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