“Trust me, I’m a doctor” is a humorous expression that suggests one’s opinion should be accepted without question, regardless of whether the person offering the opinion has actual medical expertise or experience.
The assumption is that physicians are knowledgeable, competent, and trustworthy. At one time, few would have questioned that assumption.
In 2013, Rasmussen Reports surveyed American adults and discovered that a significant majority, specifically 81%, trusted their doctor.
Four years later in 2017, that number was even higher, with 93% of patients trusting their regular doctor.
A funny thing happened in late 2019 and early 2020. In late 2019, almost no one had ever heard of COVID, coronavirus, or Wuhan.
The World Military Games were held, of all places, in Wuhan, China, in October 2019. A Department of Defense report from 2022 suggested that seven military members might have become infected with COVID-19.
We are only hearing about this now, two and a half years later. Apparently, this report was concealed among the Epstein files or Hunter Biden’s and Anthony Weiner’s laptops. However, the Biden administration covered up this report, just as they obscured their boss’s mental state and cognitive decline for four years.
Lies and coverups are a great way to destroy trust.
Dr. Anthony Fauci and his cabal lied to the public about the origins of COVID with their nonsensical “proximal origin” theory.
Why? To discredit President Donald Trump, who blamed China, and to conceal their illegal gain-of-function research.
Additionally, it may have been to maintain and protect money flow from China to the pharma-industrial complex.
This is one reason why trust in doctors and the medical profession has declined sharply over the past five years. You don’t have to take my word for it; I live and work in this new world of dwindling trust and observe it all around me.
The Journal of the American Medical Association conducted a survey of nearly half a million American adults across all 50 states and found, “The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a continuing decrease in trust in physicians and hospitals, which may necessitate strategies to rebuild that trust to achieve public health priorities.”
The Wall Street Journal, taking a break from criticizing President Trump over immigration and tariffs, noticed the declining trust in doctors. This past February, they published an article questioning, “Why we don’t trust doctors like we used to.”
They referenced a Gallup survey that stated, “Americans’ ratings of US professions stay historically low.”
In other words, it’s not only doctors who are held in low esteem but much of the administrative class as well.
Interestingly, another group of healthcare professionals topped the list, “Three in four Americans consider nurses highly honest and ethical, making them the most trusted of 23 professions rated in Gallup’s annual measurement.” Those surveyed must have missed the incessant TikTok videos of nurses dancing in ICUs during COVID.
And to no surprise for anyone engaged in politics and the news, “The least trusted professions, with more than half of U.S. adults saying their ethics are low or very low, are lobbyists, members of Congress and TV reporters.”
But it’s doctors falling most rapidly from grace, “About 53% of those polled in 2024 gave a high or very high rating to medical doctors, down from 67% in 2021. It’s the biggest drop among 23 professions ranked by Gallup in that period.”
There are many reasons. The WSJ offered a partial explanation:
People are increasingly wary of a healthcare system that is supposed to make them feel better but instead leaves them stressed and frustrated. And while much ire is directed at insurance and pharmaceutical companies, doctors are the front face of the system and are losing the public’s confidence, as well.
However, they overlooked the elephant that entered the room in late 2019, an elephant named COVID.
Consider the business and school lockdowns that closed churches while allowing strip clubs and liquor stores to remain open. It was illegal to surf alone in the Pacific Ocean, yet thousands marching together on city streets in the name of BLM or Antifa were considered perfectly safe and healthy.
Masks were deemed ineffective at protecting against tiny viruses until they were mandated as effective and lifesaving. As Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged, social distancing was arbitrary; “It sort of just appeared.” How’s that for science? As Gomer Pyle would say, “Shazam, shazam!”
The vaccines proved to be neither safe nor effective. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be hearing about sudden deaths, blood clots, or myocarditis. Additionally, those vaccinated and boosted would not continue to contract COVID. Or as a Cleveland Clinic study found, the chance of getting COVID increased with an increasing number of vaccine doses and boosters.
Children lost years of education and social interaction to avoid catching a viral illness that posed virtually no risk of death to children. Jobs, businesses, and livelihoods were devastated due to political motivations rather than medical science. What impact does this have on trust in the medical system?
The U.S. healthcare system is failing Americans. The Commonwealth Fund reports, “The US spends the most on healthcare but has the worst health outcomes among high-income countries.” In most businesses, this would signal a death knell.
Then, there is the dysfunctional medical payment system, a combination of government and corporate control, which separates patients as consumers from physicians and hospitals as providers.
The Medicare fee schedule, which serves as the basis for all third-party insurance payments, will reduce reimbursement by 3% in 2025. This marks the fifth consecutive year of payment reductions, even as the cost of providing care continues to rise.
Physicians are compelled to see more patients throughout their workday, which results in spending less time with each individual and longer waits for appointments or to see the doctor during a brief office visit.
Patients are understandably frustrated and now see a doctor’s visit similar to a DMV trip.
The loss of trust extends beyond doctors; it includes the entire healthcare system, encompassing government-run health agencies and insurance companies.
The public has been overwhelmed by a continuous influx of misinformation, especially concerning the COVID pandemic, and has encountered censorship for asking questions or expressing complaints. Americans have been made to believe that our healthcare system is the best.
Although the system may benefit certain patients in particular situations, we fail spectacularly on a population level. Practicing medicine is no longer a calling or profession; instead, it has become a people-facing service trade influenced by price controls and an increasing number of rules and regulations.
Any private sector business operating in such a manner would quickly go out of business.
Trust lost is difficult to regain. Through transparency and disclosure, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. may step in the right direction.
However, the basic structure of the healthcare delivery system is deeply flawed, and elected officials have no interest in undertaking the major reforms necessary to right the ship.
Healthcare spending in the U.S. exceeds $5 trillion, accounting for 18% of GDP, and continues to grow each year. Meanwhile, life expectancy in the U.S. is declining, and chronic diseases are on the rise.
Physicians who observe and voice any concerns may face censorship or threats to their medical licenses or employment. I experienced such backlash from the medical-industrial complex during the pandemic.
Clearly, what we are doing is not working, yet we are following the definition of insanity — doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result.
It’s no surprise that fewer Americans trust the healthcare system. The phrase “Trust me, I’m a doctor” is fading into obscurity like another ridiculous saying from the past: “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.”
We must be able to trust our doctors with our lives and well-being. Can we still do that?
Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a physician and writer. Follow me on Twitter @retinaldoctor, Substack Dr. Brian’s Substack, Truth Social @BrianJoondeph, LinkedIn @Brian Joondeph, and Email brianjoondeph@gmail.com.
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