In Campaign 2016, a recurring theme to date has been the trustworthiness of the leading candidates. As they debate for the third and final time this week, each will attempt to allay voter concern about their trust-gap and widen apprehension about the other's.
In politics and business, trust is the most valuable asset candidates and companies own. Lacking trust between a candidate and voters or an organization and its customers and trading partners means elections aren't won and a company's, long-term sustainability is compromised.
Healthcare is an industry wherein trust is foundational. We trust our physicians to recommend treatments based solely on their effectiveness and appropriateness to our diagnosis. We trust our drugs and technologies are used solely because they work best. We trust our hospitals are safe and our insurance will help pay the bills. When we learn otherwise, we rationalize they're the exceptions until recurring doubt leads to distrust. Stories about fraud, price gauging, denials of coverage and excessive profit cast doubt on our system and compromise trust in our healthcare system. The frequency of stories about these and social media lend to the growing distrust in healthcare.
