Author: lynnhanessian

  • 2026 Predictions: The Future of Health Care and Trust

    It was a year to remember as health institutions that had been pillars of science and public health were buffeted by change. The impact is growing.

    Attending the GESDA annual summit in Geneva, roiling alongside optimism associated with science discoveries was impact of US cuts made to the WHO and the threats to open science created by political actions. Those racing ahead with advancements intended equitable global benefit, but stymied by growing barriers. Fun fact: China is the global AI leader measured by peer reviewed journal articles and influence. (https://www.digital-science.com/blog/2025/07/new-report-shows-china-dominates-in-ai-research/.) Those rejecting open science may well fall rapidly behind.

    Here in the US, the spread of health misinformation became a feature, not just a fringe activity. With preventable disease outbreaks claiming lives and harming many, making personal health decision when buffeted by competing authorities created burdens for health care providers as patients arrived at appointments questioning why they should get a vaccine and questioning doctors as if they are treating disease to make money.

    There is no doubt that health care cost, access and affordability will be front-and-center in the coming year. Recently released US economic data credited the consumer with the economy’s unexpectedly strong growth. Spending in healthcare led the way. For every dollar spent on health, cars, recreation, food and other consumer goods are in competition for the household budget. Ending ACA subsidies will be watched closely to assess the health and economic impact on families likely least able to take on the increased financial burden.

    The tech transformation of healthcare and the widespread adoption of AI presented promise and worries. Perhaps no topic has transformed more rapidly from SEO to GEO, with health related SEO down 50% as people race to agents for health information and solutions. With wearables detecting health conditions both chronic and acute before the doctor does, the evolution of the doctor/patient relationship now includes a ton of new data.

    In 2026, I will be watching the K-shaped economy closely. (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-economic-growth-likely-remained-strong-third-quarter-2025-12-23/) We have long known that there is a haves-and-haves-not divide when it comes to trust and healthcare. Those with more education and income are more likely to trust healthcare vs than those with less. With the rich getting richer and information and financial barriers growing, I predict some will embrace their influencer and social media “care teams” as a replacement for trained healthcare professionals and the dauntingly complex US healthcare system.

    With so much change afoot, it is time to reassess your stakeholders. How have their priorities and expectations changed? What is the foundation of their relationship with your brand? How can you best align your business priorities with their needs? And, are your communications and engagement functions aligned accordingly? Let’s engage!

  • Strategic Engagement: Restoring Faith in Science and Medicine

    Strategic Engagement: Restoring Faith in Science and Medicine

    Science is advancing at breakneck speed. Immense accomplishments today. Immeasurable promise on the horizon. However, healthcare, biopharma, and health tech sectors stand at a critical juncture. The promise of groundbreaking therapies, diagnostics, and life-saving interventions has never been greater. But, beneath this veneer of progress lies a profound challenge: a widening chasm of public trust in science and innovation.

    Major global gatherings, such as the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator summit, reveal a paradox. Bold advances promise widespread benefits. However, public trust in life transforming science is declining. Today, trust in science can no longer be presumed—the consequences affect health, business, and society.

    Scientific achievements, no matter how profound, struggle for acceptance without intentional, empathetic engagement. As trust fails, clinical trial enrollment stalls, vaccine hesitancy rises, and misinformation drowns out credible science.

    These conditions have been in the making for decades. For scientific and medical communities, delivering health and cures were assumed wins, resulting in the public embraces and confidence. Facts, data, and peer-reviewed studies were believed to be the ultimate arbiters of truth and drivers of acceptance. However, the last decade has laid bare a stark reality: facts alone are insufficient to build and sustain public trust.

    But, there are solutions: A paradigm rooted in strategic communication and genuine engagement. It is both a moral imperative and a critical business advantage. Leaders at the forefront of health and innovation implementing create the foundation for business success.

    The Erosion of Trust: A Multi-Layered Problem

    The decline in public trust in science and healthcare stems from several interconnected factors:

    1. The Information Overload and Misinformation Deluge: The digital age has democratized information. It has also created a fertile ground for misinformation and disinformation. Digital algorithms amplify sensationalism over accuracy. Emotionally charged narratives often outweigh scientifically sound explanations, making it harder to distinguish myth from fact.
    2. Commercialization and Perceived Conflicts of Interest: Health care, medicines and new technologies are multi-billion-dollar industries. While innovation requires investment, this awareness often translates into skepticism about motives. Company profits, drug pricing, and opaque costs contribute to negative narratives that undermine the altruistic aims of medical advancement.
    3. The Slow Pace of Science vs. The Instant News Cycle: The scientific progress is incremental, characterized by hypotheses, experiments, peer review, and often, corrections. It is deliberative, measured and not always linear. This clashes with shortening attention spans and the 24/7 news cycle that features headlines, not thorough and persuasive dialogue.
    4. Historical Injustices and Systemic Inequalities: Many communities, particularly those historically marginalized, distrust medical institutions. This is deeply rooted in past exploitation and ongoing systemic inequalities in healthcare access and quality. This baggage actively shapes present day perceptions.
    5. Swirling Authorities: Changing opinions based on belief are now touted as public health information from US government institutions. This contradicts proven science and fuels conspiracy theories. Eroding trust in institutions leads many to seek information locally. They turn to their doctor, their pharmacist, and their friends and families.

    These factors create an environment where scientific achievements–no matter how breakthrough– struggle to gain broad acceptance.

    The Power of Strategic Communication and Engagement

    To rebuild trust, biotech, pharma, health tech and healthcare organizations must take a proactive approach. They should focus on strategic communication and genuine engagement. We need to rethinking how advance science and engage the public.

    Pillar 1: Humanizing Science and Scientists

    The public doesn’t trust institutions; they trust people:

    • Elevate Authentic Voices: Empower scientists, researchers, and clinical leaders to become articulate, empathetic communicators. Provide media training that focuses on message points, storytelling, active listening, and connecting with diverse audiences on a human level.
    • Share Personal Journeys: Encourage sharing the “why” behind the science. What motivated a researcher to pursue a cure for a rare disease? What personal experiences inform a clinician’s approach to patient care? These narratives build emotional resonance and bridge the gap between complex science and relatable human experience.
    • Community Immersion: Encourage scientists to step outside the lab and engage with local communities—at schools, community centers, and local events. These are opportunities for genuine dialogue, answering questions, and building relationships over time.

    When the public sees the human face of science, familiarity, understanding and appreciation grows.

    Pillar 2: Radical Transparency and Vulnerability

    In an age of skepticism, honesty, even about limitations, is a powerful authenticity:

    • Demystify the Scientific Process: Proactively explain and show how science works. Include the iterative nature of research. Highlight the scientific debate. Help the public understand that uncertainty is a feature, not a bug, of scientific progress.
    • Acknowledge Limitations and Evolution: When scientific understanding evolves (e.g., changes in public health guidance), explain why the recommendations have shifted, based on new data or a deeper understanding. Avoid presenting science as infallible; instead, highlight its self-correcting nature.
    • Plain Language Communication: Eliminate jargon. Use analogies, visuals, and straightforward language to explain complex concepts. Assume no prior knowledge and prioritize clarity over technical precision in public communication. Always with a KISS, Keep It Simple, Stupid.

    Transparency builds credibility. When organizations are open about both successes and challenges, they foster a trust-building environment.

    Pillar 3: Authentic and Inclusive Engagement

    Trust is a two-way street. Genuine engagement means listening as much speaking:

    • Community Advisory Boards (CABs): Establish and empower CABs composed of diverse community members. These boards should have a genuine role in shaping research questions, clinical trial design, and communication strategies. They ensure relevance and cultural appropriateness. Always listen critically as CABs reveal unique perspectives on problems and solutions.
    • Leverage Trusted Messengers: Partner with established, trusted leaders within specific communities (e.g., patient advocates, community organizers, local physicians). Empower these collaborators with accessible scientific information they can share within their networks, bringing their trusted endorsement along with it.
    • Active Listening and Feedback Loops: Create channels for stakeholder feedback and genuinely listen to concerns, questions, and criticisms. Demonstrate that this guidance is valued and shapes how your organization communicates and operates. Address misinformation directly but by providing clear, evidence-based corrections and context.

    Inclusive engagement transforms the public into active participants in the scientific journey, building deep, resilient trust.

    The Business Imperative: Why Trust Matters to Your Bottom Line

    For executives across health care and innovation ecosystems, these are strategic imperatives that directly impact business outcomes:

    1. Accelerated Clinical Trials: Trusted organizations find it easier to recruit diverse patient populations for clinical trials and accelerating drug development
    2. Increased Patient Adoption: Public trust leads to greater acceptance of new therapies, treatments, and health recommendations. This adherence drives better patient outcomes.
    3. Enhanced Brand Reputation and License to Operate: A strong reputation for trustworthiness builds resilience against crises. It also fosters a positive public perception through ethical conduct.
    4. Mitigation of Misinformation and Crisis Resilience: Organizations with established trust are better equipped to combat misinformation and navigate crises.

    Rebuilding trust is urgent—and also an opportunity. At The Engager Company, we design bespoke communication and engagement frameworks. These frameworks help healthcare leaders meet today’s trust challenges. They also unlock business performance.

    Ready to discuss tailored strategies for corporate communications, science communications, launches, or stakeholder engagement? Let’s partner for a trusted future.

  • Doctors, Employers and Trust in Healthcare

    Let’s face it: trust in healthcare is at a crossroads. If it feels harder to build that classic doctor-patient bond, or if navigating your health benefits feels more tricky than ever, you’re not alone. Working with Dr. Jan Berger, we explored this important topic during our Midwest Business Group on Health 45th Annual Conference presentation in May as well as in the newest issue of Chicago Medicine. Happy to share some of our observations and solutions.

    Why is trust in healthcare so fragile right now?

    It wasn’t always this complicated. Back in the day, most doctors ran small practices, building relationships over years and even decades. Now, the system is bigger and more complex. Most
    physicians work for larger organizations, and time is tight. Throw in polarized politics, the legacy of bias, rampant misinformation, and skyrocketing healthcare costs—and it’s no wonder trust is under pressure.

    But here’s the thing: trust isn’t just a warm-and-fuzzy concept. It leads to better health. People who trust their doctors are more likely to get preventive care, follow medical advice, and have better health outcomes. And when trust falters, everyone feels it—patients, doctors, employers, and entire communities.

    So, What’s Getting in the Way?

    • Societal distrust is at an all-time high, and it spills over into healthcare.
    • The politicization of science, financial pressures, and too much noise from unreliable sources on the internet all make things worse.

    Plus, having insurance doesn’t guarantee actual access to care. Many insured patients still avoid getting care (or paying for prescriptions) because it just costs too much. Unsurprisingly, this hits lower-income families the hardest and chips away further at trust.

    Focusing on Solutions: What Can Rebuild Trust?

    Here’s the good news: solutions are within reach, and they’re already having an impact.

    1. Double Down on the Patient-Doctor Relationship

    • Make the most of every interaction. Even with limited time, listening actively and addressing patient concerns honestly lays a foundation of trust.
    • Emphasize consistent follow-through. Predictability and dependability count more than ever.
    • Encourage open communication—let patients know it’s okay to ask questions or bring in information from other sources.
    • Activate hospitals and health systems to foster public health—as trust in institutions has shifted away from national organizations, hospitals and health systems are trusted authorities in “my community” that can share evidence-based health recommendations.

    2. Harness the Power of Employers

    Employers aren’t just benefit-providers; they’re trusted partners. The research shows that, while people may be skeptical of business in general, they often trust their own employer to look out for them.

    • Benefit managers can boost trust by providing clear, transparent information about health plans and coverage.
    • Employers can act as health advocates—working hand-in-hand with doctors to make sure their employees have access to high-value, affordable care.
    • Leading employers are using innovations like value-based care and Centers of Excellence for complex procedures. These programs reward better outcomes, not just more procedures—and they help control costs for everyone.

    3. Increase Transparency and Communication

    • Address financial barriers head-on. Employers and providers should clearly explain the cost of care and support patients in understanding their benefits and options.
    • Demystify the system—transparency about costs, coverage, and available resources decreases frustration and increases faith in the process.
    • Use trusted messengers. Doctors and employers can work together to coordinate clear, honest messaging—through social media, newsletters, and workplace initiatives.

    4. Meet Patients Where They Are

    • Recognize that people get information from everywhere—online, from friends, from local experts. Doctors and employers should join these conversations, sharing accurate information in the channels where people are looking for answers.
    • Frequent, relatable communication from doctors and employers can help cut through misinformation and make health advice feel more personal and trustworthy.

    The Takeaway: Trust Is Everyone’s Job

    Ensuring trust in healthcare takes teamwork from doctors, employers, and patients alike. By nurturing relationships, communicating honestly, advocating for fair and accessible care, and collaborating across the system, trust isn’t just possible—it grows and along with it, personal health.

    The path isn’t easy, but it is clear: every trusted relationship, every honest conversation, every practical support offered, every act of transparency is a step toward a healthcare system that feels safe, credible, and trusted.

  • From Disparities to Equity

    The Center for Healthcare Innovation 13th Annual Health Equity & Innovation Symposium featured rising concerns about fraying health and social systems with expert insights on how to overcome health disparities that weigh heavily on many communities. As a long-time CHI board member, attending the annual gathering was inspirational and energizing, while also serving as a persistent guide on the work we need to do to deliver health equity. Bottomline: Alliances, invitations and storytelling power proven solutions.

    Read more.

  • Myths, Facts and Health

    I was honored to join the DOC debut. Trust in healthcare has gone local because of the erosion of trust in national and global institutions. The Finding Signal in the Noise conversation that kicked off last year is ever urgent today. We have to fill the trust void with fact and evidence-based guidance in the channels where people see information and from trusted advisors. With TikTok is a leading source for news, we need to rethink how and what we communicate along the way. Bravo, DOC, for leading the charge of critical conversations and paths forward.

    Read more.