Various dimensions of trust in the health care system

Abstract

Trust is one of the most important factors in building effective and long-lasting relationships in the entire healthcare sector. Trust becomes a valuable ally in situations of high risk and uncertainty as well as the increasing complexity of tasks that accompany the daily work of all medical professionals, especially paramedics, due to the nature of their work in the medical rescue system. Mutual trust is the basis of social capital thanks to which it is possible to achieve mutual benefits, easier to coordinate activities, create new quality and solutions through cooperation or strong ties. It is a kind of glue that binds various organizational and system links, thanks to which it is easier to plan and introduce necessary improvements and changes within individual medical units or the entire health care system. The high degree of trust increases the quality of clinical communication with the patient and the effectiveness of medical care and strengthens the employees’ motivation and willingness to cooperate. Creating social capital based on trust is in the interest of all internal and external stakeholders of the entire health care system, thanks to which joint, cross-sectoral projects for health in the public dimension are possible. The aim of the article was, on the one hand, to systematize the theoretical and practical knowledge related to the multidimensionality of trust in the health care system, but on the other, to identify and analyse the factors building trust that should be discussed and, above all, applied in everyday professional practice and social space of all employees of the health care system. with particular emphasis on paramedics.