Americans Losing Faith in Medical Profession - East Idaho News

Americans Losing Faith in Medical Profession

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getty 102414 doctormedicalprofession?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1414145540667iStock/Thinkstock(BOSTON) — What’s up, Doc? Certainly not Americans’ trust in physicians, according to an analysis by the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

Co-author Robert Blendon says that faith in doctors has eroded significantly over the past half-century. In 1966, three out of four people had “great confidence in the leaders of the medical profession.”

As of 2012, just 34 percent expressing a great deal of confidence in physicians.

In a separate poll that covered 29 nations, respondents were asked if they agreed with the statement: “Doctors in your country can be trusted.” The U.S. ranked 24th with 58 percent agreeing.

So what happened over time to make Americans less trusting of those they trust with their care? For one thing, many believe doctors are self-serving, compared to other countries where medical professionals advocate for public health.

There’s also the problem of too many major physician specialty groups, which fail to call for ways to benefit patients, such as reducing health care costs.

However, the news for doctors is not all gloom and doom. Blendon says that the U.S. is third behind just Switzerland and Denmark when it comes to people being satisfied with their own personal physicians. That means that trust is far higher on an individual scale rather than a collective basis.


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