At Human Health, we want to give people the tools to ensure every voice is heard, and every healthcare experience matters. To further this mission, we conducted a study to  capture the experiences of patients who feel unheard or dismissed by their healthcare providers. This is a critical step toward understanding and addressing the gap in patient-provider trust.

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What Did Our Study Reveal?

Our study, which surveyed over 800 patients uncovered that 86% of respondents found it difficult to find a doctor who truly listened to them. We systematically categorized responses and identified the top reasons patients felt distrustful of healthcare providers:

• Experiences of medical gaslighting
• Lack of access to  providers
• Being reduced to a single diagnosis, and not treated as a whole

Patients shared personal stories of feeling dismissed or having their symptoms overlooked, particularly in cases related to chronic pain, mental health, and neuropsychiatric conditions. For many, the inability to choose a trusted healthcare provider exacerbated their sense of not being heard. Others reported that only through persistent self-advocacy were they able to receive the care they needed.

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Where Can You Learn More?

We’ve detailed the results of this study, the implications for patient care, and the importance of addressing these trust issues in our white paper, Patient Perspectives on Healthcare Providers: A Rapid Qualitative Evaluation.

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