Trust and distrust between patient and doctor

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Decision Science
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Trust and distrust are fundamentally based on expectations of behavior.
• Disappointed expectations often lead to distrust.
• Healthy trust and distrust necessitate a clear understanding of reasonable expectations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the boundaries and limitations of trustworthiness.
• To analyze trust and distrust within specific medical contexts.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent studies on trust.
• Analysis of trust in the contexts of defensive medicine, biobanking, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) decisions.

Main Results:

• Trustworthiness is constrained by the reasonableness of expectations in various medical scenarios.
• Defensive medicine, biobanking, and CPR decisions highlight different facets of trust limits.

Conclusions:

• A nuanced understanding of reasonable expectations is crucial for navigating trust and distrust in healthcare.
• The findings provide insights into managing trust in complex medical decision-making.