Trust In The System And Trust In Your Doctor Are Two Different Things

Americans have plenty of reasons to feel uneasy about healthcare right now. Yet, while patients may be skeptical of the healthcare system, trust in their individual providers remains strong.

That distinction matters for healthcare leaders because it suggests trust isn't necessarily disappearing. Instead, it may be concentrated in specific parts of the patient experience.

Trust In The System And Trust In A Doctor Are Two Different Things

Recent Gallup research paints a challenging picture of Americans' perceptions of healthcare overall.

In late 2025, a record-high 23% of Americans described the U.S. healthcare system as being in a state of crisis, while another 47% said it has major problems. Healthcare costs remain a particularly significant concern, with only 16% of Americans satisfied with the cost of healthcare nationally.

That pressure has continued into 2026. West Health-Gallup research found that fewer than half of Americans are now considered "Cost Secure," meaning they can consistently afford access to quality healthcare and pay for needed visits and prescriptions.

But ask patients about their own providers, and the picture looks very different.

PatientPoint's 2024 Patient Confidence Index found that 81% of patients trust their doctors. Gallup research released in 2026 also found that doctors remain Americans' first choice for medical information: 

Trust Is Built Through Experiences, Not Institutions

Why do patients maintain confidence in their providers even when their confidence in healthcare overall is shaky? Over and over again, we see that one factor influences patient perceptions of both a system and their clinicians: their personal experience.

PatientPoint found that feeling heard and respected was a major contributor to patients' trust in their doctors. The overall experience with the physician also played an important role.

This is where healthcare organizations have a significant opportunity.

Patients don't experience a "health system" as an abstract institution. They experience a collection of moments: finding a doctor, making an appointment, talking with a nurse, sitting in a waiting room, meeting with a physician, receiving a bill, or trying to understand what happens next.

Each interaction can either reinforce or undermine trust.

A great physician relationship can build enormous confidence. But repeated friction elsewhere in the journey can slowly chip away at it.

The Experience Around The Provider Matters, Too

The challenge for health systems is making sure the broader patient experience lives up to the trust providers have earned.

Consider access alone. West Health-Gallup’s 2025 State of the States study found that 53% of Americans experienced long appointment wait times that prevented or delayed care. One-quarter said not knowing how to find a provider had delayed or prevented them from receiving care.

Those may sound like operational problems, but to patients, they are experience problems.

Add in confusing bills, difficult scheduling, poor communication, complicated digital tools, or unclear next steps, and it’s no wonder some health systems struggle with patient experience KPIs. Even a strong provider relationship may not be able to overcome difficulties at other steps in the patient journey.

Healthcare Leaders Need A More Nuanced View Of Trust

This also has implications for how health systems research and measure patient experience. Asking whether patients "trust" an organization is useful, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

Healthcare leaders need to understand where trust exists, what creates it, and where it begins to break down.

That means looking beyond an overall satisfaction score and examining individual moments across the journey. Which interactions make patients feel heard? Where do they lose confidence? Which experiences influence whether they return, recommend the organization, or look somewhere else for care?

The encouraging news is that healthcare isn't starting from zero on trust. Patients still place tremendous confidence in the people caring for them. The opportunity is to build an experience around those providers that earns the same confidence.

At MDRG, we help uncover those underlying drivers through patient experience, brand, and journey research, giving healthcare organizations an opportunity to even out points of friction and strengthen their patient relationships. If building trust across the patient journey is on your agenda, get in touch with us today.

References

Gallup. (2025, December 15). Cost Leads Americans' Top-of-Mind Healthcare Concerns. https://news.gallup.com/poll/699770/cost-leads-americans-top-mind-healthcare-concerns.aspx

Gallup. (2026, February 12). Four Ways Americans Seek Medical Advice. https://news.gallup.com/poll/702164/americans-rely-mainly-own-doctor-medical-advice.aspx

West Health-Gallup. (2026, June 17). U.S. Adults' Ability to Afford Healthcare at a Five-Year Low. https://news.gallup.com/poll/710942/adults-ability-afford-healthcare-five-year-low.aspx

West Health-Gallup. (2025). How Do Americans Experience Healthcare in Their State? https://news.gallup.com/poll/698042/americans-experience-healthcare-state.aspx

PatientPoint. (2024). Patient Confidence Index: More Patients Trust Their Doctors. https://patientpoint.com/blog/infographic-more-patients-trust-their-doctors/