At Harbor Health, we know your relationship with your doctor plays an important role in your successful health journey. When you visit one of our providers for the first time, he or she will begin building that relationship by spending a good amount of time truly getting to know you, your health history, and your health goals. As we collaborate with you on your health, we know trust between you and your physician is of utmost importance.
This type of relationship with your physician may not be familiar to you. In fact, only about a third of doctors regularly ask patients open-ended questions about their appointments, according to a recent study in the Journal of General Medicine. In addition, the study found when physicians do ask questions, they usually interrupt people within 11 seconds. We think that seems like a hard way to develop trust and co-create your health with a provider.
Our Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Luci Leykum has dedicated her career to improving healthcare systems to better meet the needs of people. Her research focuses on how to improve relationships between people, their caregivers, and their care teams, and that includes developing trust.
“In order to create successful care plans for people, we must develop real health strategies that work for their unique lives,” said Dr. Luci Leykum. “That means we have to go in-depth to understand people’s health priorities and what’s happening in their lives that influence their ability to meet health goals. We strive to create relationships based on trust with those we care for and know that trust can ultimately lead to better health outcomes.”
Of course, as providers, we follow a medical code of conduct requiring us to keep your information private under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).As all Harbor Health providers stay true to those ethics, we hope you will trust us as a partner on your health journey. The more we learn to trust each other, the better we can design your specific health plan and work together towards positive health journeys.
