The People’s Voice Survey, a population-representative, multicountry tool that measures public trust, user experience, and confidence in health systems around the world, recently found that fewer than 50% of respondents feel “health secure,” and only 25% fully endorse their current health care system.¹ Although the United States had the highest health care utilization of any country surveyed,¹ easier access to medications online without a prescription and patients’ use of AI for health information presents us with the unique challenge of maintaining our patients’ trust.

Stephanie Desmon put it plainly in her 2023 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health piece: When patients don’t feel heard by their doctors, trust erodes, and that erosion can lead to real health consequences, even when the clinician has the patient’s best interests at heart.²

Practices that show patients they truly care with active listening and communication grow because of it. Those that fall into the trap of hubris and lose empathy and kindness over time do not. As a patient yourself, you know the difference between a practice that cares and one that doesn’t. With so many options available to us today, why would any of us return to a practice that doesn’t?

When we build our practice on the right foundation with the right framework, we don’t just grow the business; we build trust and extend our reach to more patients, which leads to better health outcomes and better quality of life for our patients and our teams alike.

The challenge is keeping our practices focused on the right thing. Being great at our job isn’t the same as being a great practice.

Patients walk into our offices with high hopes. They tell us what they’re experiencing and trust us to ask the right questions, reach the right diagnosis, and prescribe the right treatment plan. So when a patient comes to us expecting a treatment plan, why do they so often leave without one? Why do they leave without a prescription for the eyewear options that could improve their daily lives? Without guidance on lid hygiene or dry eye treatment? Without knowing their contact lens options, including those that let our patients over 40 see clearly at both distance and near? Without understanding the links between diabetes, GLP medications, and the risk of vision loss?

Many of our teams—maybe even we ourselves—may be tempted to start the patient encounter already wondering whether anyone is really listening or cares. A handful of difficult patients, combined with the noise of social media, can convince us that our patients won’t listen anyway, so we stop showing up as our best selves.

However, I want you to know, colleagues and friends: The overwhelming majority of your patients care deeply. They’re eager for your words, your prescription, your treatment plan, and simply your time. Like you, they want a practice that puts their well-being first.

We change people’s lives every day. The only question is whether it’s a change for the better or for the worse.OM

References

1. Kruk ME, Kapoor NR, Lewis TP. Populaton confidence in the health system in 15 countries: results from the first round of the People's Voice Survey. Lancet. 2024;12(1):E100-E111. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00499-0
2. Desmon S. Improving patient-doctor communication. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. October 23, 2023. Accessed August 26, 2026. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/when-patients-dont-feel-heard-by-their-doctor

April Jasper, OD, FAAO practices in West Palm Beach, Florida. She is an American Academy of Optometry fellow, chief optometric editor of Optometric Management, and author of “Creating Your Business of Distinction,” which can be purchased here: amzn.to/3LM8JmR.

Email: dr@apriljasper.com 
X: @DrAprilJasper
Facebook: @OptometricManagement