Trust in times of health reform

Peter P Groenewegen; Johan Hansen; Judith D de Jong

doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.11.016

Trust in times of health reform

Health Policy. 2019 Mar;123(3):281-287. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.11.016. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

Authors

Peter P Groenewegen¹, Johan Hansen², Judith D de Jong³

Affiliations

¹ NIVEL - Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research and Department of Sociology, Department of Human Geography, Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Electronic address: [email protected].
² NIVEL - Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, the Netherlands.
³ NIVEL - Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research and Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.

PMID: 30528656
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.11.016

Abstract

Trust is seen as an important condition for the smooth functioning of institutions, such as the health care system. In this article we describe the trust relationships between the three main actors in the Dutch health care system: patients/insured, healthcare providers and insurers. We used data from different surveys between 2006 and 2016. 2006 was the year of the introduction of an insurance reform in the Netherlands towards regulated competition. In the triangle of trust relationships between the three actors we found strong and mutual trust relationships between patients and healthcare providers and weak trust relationships between healthcare providers and insurers as well as between insured and insurance organisations. This hampers the intended role of insurers as selective purchasers of health care on the basis of quality and price.

Keywords: Insurers; Patients; Providers; Public trust; The Netherlands.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Consumer Behavior
Health Care Reform
Health Personnel / psychology*
Humans
Insurance Carriers*
Netherlands
Patients / psychology*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Trust*