More physicians believe in greater transparency
More than half of physician leaders believe greater transparency in healthcare will improve the relationship between patients and doctors, according to a poll conducted by the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE).
The results show that 54 percent of participants believe increasing transparency will improve the physician-patient relationship, 22 percent think it will be damaged and an additional 24 percent say transparency won’t have any effect on the relationship. The majority said they believe greater transparency will foster a better sense of trust between doctors and the patients they treat.
“Transparency isn't always the easiest thing to do, but certainly the right thing to do,” wrote William Casperson, MD, a member of ACPE's board of directors. “Decades of opacity have led to suspicion and distrust towards our medical system. It will require consistent transparency over a long period of time to recover.”
Transparency is clearly an important issue within the physician community and the poll results reflect the polarizing nature of the topic, said Peter Angood, MD, president and CEO of ACPE. “No matter what your opinion may be, the trend toward greater transparency is continuing to gain momentum,” he said in a release. “As physician leaders, we need to get involved to help ensure the quality of the data is high and the public receives the necessary information to make informed decisions."
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.