Chief Patient Officer of Publicis Health, the worldwide leader in healthcare communications.
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Trust and transparency are the cornerstones of any meaningful relationship, whether it be business, personal or transactional. And when it comes to healthcare, the lack of either of these can put patient care at risk.
Unfortunately, current events have chipped away at the trust many consumers previously had in healthcare while also reinforcing mistrust, especially among underserved populations. But armed with transparency and a sense of moral responsibility, healthcare organizations can establish or reestablish this trust.
The Impact of Current Events on Trust
There are numerous reasons why consumers might not fully trust the healthcare industry, whether it’s because of bad experiences with physicians, consuming content about medical malpractice or racial discrimination in treatment, which have all driven the recent awakening of healthcare disparities. We also know that the Covid-19 pandemic has further fueled mistrust through the misinformation that is running rampant around the virus’s existence, treatments, prevention and more.
But I’d like to focus on a recent event that is especially personal to me: the case and trial of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. In 2013, I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma. Having returned to work in 2014, and having just completed a year of radiation, chemotherapy and more blood tests than I can count, I was at an event listening to Holmes launch Theranos to the world, and like many others, I thought her innovative promises sounded remarkable. Think of it: A nanotechnology that could use a single drop of blood to empower people to own their lab results, overcome needle phobia and disrupt the healthcare industry as we know it — all backed by some of the most trusted figures in the country.
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At the conference, I was excited to have the opportunity to be one of the first people to take a Theranos blood test and download the app to view my results. But the results did not align with any of my other lab results. I was surprised, but also blamed myself that I must have done something wrong. Like many healthcare consumers, I feel like the onus is on me to advocate for my care. Fortunately, I trusted my doctors over the Theranos test, and I am now cancer-free. But as we’ve since learned, many other vulnerable patients trusted the tech instead of their physicians. And many trusted industry leaders were also convinced.
While Theranos’ product was the root of the issue, it was compounded by a lack of transparency and overpromises from Holmes. This created a façade of smoke and mirrors around her entire company, which she continued to encourage even amid its downfall. In many of her public statements, Holmes talked about Theranos’ ability to provide increased access to “actionable health information,” which would allow people to take better control of their health. The problem was, she never explained exactly how Theranos did that. In addition, Theranos focused more on being the next tech unicorn rather than being a healthcare organization.
While disruption in healthcare is absolutely needed to move the industry forward and develop groundbreaking treatments, it is important that patients can trust the care they are receiving and that their care team always puts their needs first.
Patient-Centric Strategies for Building Trust
With plenty of lessons learned from both the Theranos case and the Covid-19 pandemic, here are some patient-centric strategies healthcare marketers and communicators should keep in mind as they work to build and keep trust.
• Always, and transparently, state the facts. Without hard evidence to back up factual information, it will be harder to gain your target audience’s trust and loyalty. Find the right balance of providing scientific and understandable information so that you’re not confusing consumers with complexities, while also not oversimplifying to the extent that consumers overlook the facts.
• Publicly combat misinformation. Call out misinformation as it relates to your brand’s purpose. This will build up your brand as a trusted resource when patients see your commitment to accuracy.
• Accompany your brand purpose with clear action. If the purpose of your brand is to provide virtual mental health services, then focus on how you’re helping patients — not on how you’re leveraging the best technology to provide virtual care. Stay true to your brand’s mission and avoid getting sidetracked with the things that might be exciting to you but aren’t relevant to the patient.
• If you make a mistake, own up to it. In healthcare, it’s critical to do your absolute best to provide accurate information. But if you make a mistake and something ends up being false (whether it was your error or not), correct the error. Those who hide in the dark sow the seeds of mistrust.
• Personalize your patient experiences. Using both health and lifestyle data to truly understand your patients’ needs, attitudes, behaviors and preferences will go a long way in establishing trust. If you back up your marketing strategies and tactics accordingly, then your message is more likely to be heard, understood and trusted.
Consumer trust is currency, and in healthcare, spending it wisely is essential to patients’ health and well-being. It’s also the responsibility of the healthcare provider to build this trust through transparency. As we begin a new year and healthcare continues to evolve with current events, new technology and the world, it’s more important than ever for healthcare organizations to establish and keep trust with patients for the sake of their health and your reputation.
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Author: Sue Manber, Forbes Councils Member
