Health
Trust helps motivate patients
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 16, 2006
Among patients with an existing relationship with a physician, those who trust their doctors are less likely to put off care when they need it or to have unmet medical requirements, says a study in last month's Health Services Research. "Increasing patients' trust in a physician may be associated with improvement among patients in two important areas: getting care promptly and getting needed health care," the authors wrote.
Researchers analyzed data from the Community Tracking Study Household Survey, a national study by the Center for Studying Health System Change designed to track changes in the health care system. Among minorities, the poor and the uninsured, there was no connection between trust and delaying care.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/01/16/hlbf0116.htm.
