Boston Globe: Americans’ trust in medicine is declining. But doctors can still turn it around.

Dr. Andrew W. Bazemore likens trust to a new drug or device. “It’s one of the most powerful tools of medicine, frankly, and if you don’t have it, no number of drugs, devices, or other interventions are going to achieve much,” says Bazemore, a primary care doctor in Virginia who is senior vice president of research and policy for the American Board of Family Medicine.

Research backs up his assertion. When patients trust their health care provider, they experience fewer symptoms, a higher quality of life, and more satisfaction with treatment, according to a review of 47 studies published in 2017.

But now, Bazemore says, trust in medicine is “under siege.”