Public Perceptions of Medicine

Abstract

Two thirds of the American public now believe that people are beginning to lose faith in doctors.¹ The growth of public disillusionment with physicians as a professional group has accompanied magnificent medical advances. In some sense, Aaron Wildavsky's catchy phrase "doing better but feeling worse"² characterizes the situation.The picture that emerges is different when people are questioned about their experiences with their personal physicians and their most recent medical encounters. Patients typically assume that their physicians are technically competent, but they look for warmth and interest in the patient as an individual, particularly in the presence of frightening or . . .